Arsenal Agree to £35m Sale of Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona

But will Nou Camp side pay the asking price for the Emirates Stadium skipper?

ARSENAL are ready to reluctantly sell Cesc Fabregas for £35million.
Arsene Wenger is unlikely to stand in the Spaniard’s way after persuading him not to leave last season for his beloved Barcelona.

Arsenal insiders are convinced this will be Fabregas’ last season at the Emirates despite having four years of his £120,000-a-week contract to run.

The Spain international is disillusioned with the club’s failure to lift a trophy since 2005.

Boss Wenger knows it will be virtually impossible to convince the ambitious Fabregas, 23, to prolong his stay. He was bitterly disappointed when Arsenal refused a £29m offer from Barcelona last summer.

Wenger convinced him to have one last crack at leading Arsenal’s young team to glory but they have fallen short again and Fabregas voiced his growing frustration in an interview in Spain.

A club insider said: “There is a feeling Cesc has gone as far as he can with Arsenal.

“He has been with us eight years and believes he has shown great loyalty.

“The team will finish the season empty-handed again and he fears that situation will not change.”

SOURCE: The Sun

There is no doubting that Cesc Fabregas has not been at this best this term and that another season without silverware will have ramifications on the Spaniard’s state of mind, but are Arsenal ready to sell their captain? Wouldn’t such a sale admit their shortcomings? Arsene Wenger has stated in recent press conferences that he plans no major player sales so not sure if there is much to this story other than a ‘club insider’ who could of course be totally fictitious.

Cesc has been continually linked with a return to the Nou Camp over the past few seasons and perhaps the most pertinent question to ask in relation to such interest would be “where exactly would Fabregas fit into Guardiola’s plans?”.

Given that it would be next to impossible to play Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Fabregas in the same midfield perhaps any move to sign the Arsenal captain would occur only when Xavi was nearing retirement, which doesn’t seem imminent.

Wenger also reportedly faces a challenge to keep other big names players with the likes of Robin Van Persie, Gael Clichy, Andrei Arshavin and Samir Nasri all strongly linked with moves away from North London. There is a sense that this summer will be a big one for the Gunners and most supporters will be looking to see their club buy established players whilst keeping those in the squad who have something to offer.

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Barcelona to Sell Six to Fund £52.7m Bid for Arsenal Captain Cesc Fabregas

Nou Camp side make room for Emirates skipper.

Barcelona are planning to cut 6 first team stars this summer according to esteemed Spanish publication AS in an effort to raise funds to launch a bid for Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas. The Barcelona President Sandro Rosell has revealed that the club will only be able to launch a summer offer for Fabregas if they sell a number of their current first team stars to finance the deal. The six players tipped to leave the Nou Camp are Adriano, Ibrahim Afellay, Maxwell, Seydou Keita, Gabi Milito, and Jeffren. The news will alert the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur who have been interested in two of the aforementioned squad members.

SOURCE: Sport.co.uk

A great deal of speculation that surrounded the issue of finances at the Nou Camp and that the lack of funds for Pep Guardiola was preventing the Catalan club from meeting any valuation placed on Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas as opposed to any feeling that too much was being demanded by the North London club, with that in mind this source believes that the La Liga champions are willing to sell a number of first team squad players to help fund a move for the Spanish international.

Some sources are stating that Arsenal have quoted a fee of €60m (£52.6m) for their captain and as recently as this week Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has stated his club were not willing to pay such a fee but apparently Pep Guardiola has identified Fabregas as his main target for this coming summer and expects his side to fund a move, hence the potential sales.

Of the players named Ibrahim Afellay is perhaps the most attractive with many sides interested in the former PSV man who only arrived at the club in January. Jeffren has been linked with a move to Liverpool and Aston Villa are reportedly keen on utility defender Gabriel Milito.

Barcelona have also been strongly linked with a move for Arsenal winger Samir Nasri and there has been interest from Bayern Munich in Gael Clichy and Andrei Arshavin and Arsene Wenger knows that if the Gunners fails to land the Premier League title this season then he may struggle to keep the nucleus of a side that has failed to seal any silverware in six seasons.

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Arsenal Plan Surprise Move to Sign £9m Barcelona Playmaker But Not as Part of Fabregas Swap

Emirates side keen on Nou Camp bit part player.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is chasing Barcelona midfielder Ibrahim Afellay. The Daily Star Sunday says Barca boss Pep Guardiola is ready to flog the talented Dutchman, 24, who has failed to make the breakthrough at the Nou Camp.

Afellay moved to Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven in the January transfer window for just £3million as his contract was set to run out at the end of the season. Guardiola would like to use the Holland international as a makeweight to snare Gunners ace Cesc Fabregas in the summer.

But an Emirates source insisted: “Afellay is a young and gifted player but he won’t be part of a deal for Cesc going to Barca.”

SOURCE: Tribalfootball

Clearly when former PSV Eindhoven star Ibrahim Afellay finally made his long and protracted move to Barcelona the Dutch international would have expected life to be tough and the pursuit of first team football a difficult one but apparently the 24 year old didn’t think it would be this tough. Having arrived for a knock down fee in January the talented playmaker who can play in the centre of more predominantly out wide, has barely had a look in.

To date Afellay has started just one La Liga game and has seen a grand total of 12 minutes Champions League action. His outings have pretty much set aside for Copa Del Rey action and it doesn’t look like he is going to get much of a look in for the coming future given the talent that lies ahead of him.

Arsene Wenger wanted to land Afellay when he was at PSV and will try again to nab the Utrecht born star and some sources believe that Pep Guardiola will consider offers of around £9m which would represent a good investment by the Catalan club and also seems a fair price for a player with great potential.

Clearly Arsenal have a number of players of a similar style and position to the Barcelona man but there have been many questions over the form of the likes of Andrei Arshavin, Tomas Rosicky and it seems that of the wide players in the Gunners armoury only Samir Nasri has actually been consistently effective, even young England international Theo Walcott has flitted in and out of form so a move for Afellay may be a wise one.

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Barcelona Will Not Increase Bid For Cesc Fabregas

According to Francisco Acedo at Sky Sports News, Barcelona will not make an increased bid for Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas next summer. Barcelona president Sandro Rosell told Sport,

“Barca is not disposed to pay €50million (£43.9m) for Cesc Fabregas next summer … That is decided and, although Guardiola demands this player, we will not pay this amount.

“It is impossible due to a simple reason. In football, prices are reduced each year and, if we offered Arsenal €40m (£35.1m) for Cesc last summer, €50m is now impossible … If the coach demands Cesc we will negotiate with the Gunners, but at a correct limit and without madness and, if the operation is not possible, we will wait for other opportunities.

“Our relationship with Arsenal is not good. The Toral issue has not pleased us … The future of Cesc is in his hands and we could only negotiate with Arsenal if Guardiola insists. Only with any sale is it possible to increase the money for the negotiations.”

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Barcelona Not Happy With Arsenal and Will Not Pay £43m for Cesc Fabregas

Emirates captain will not be moving to Nou Camp…not at that price anyway.

At only 23 and with a contract until 2015, Arsenal believe that Fabregas belongs among the elite group of players (Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Fernando Torres) who have commanded transfer fees of at least €50 million.
“Barca is not disposed to pay €50 million for Cesc Fabregas next summer,” said Sandro Rosell, the Barcelona president. “That is decided and, although [Pep] Guardiola demands this player, we will not pay this amount.
“It is impossible due to a simple reason. In football, prices are reduced each year and, if we offered Arsenal €40 million for Cesc last summer, 50 million is now impossible. If the coach demands Cesc we will negotiate with the Gunners but at a correct limit and without madness and, if the operation is not possible, we will wait for other opportunities.”
The situation regarding Fabregas could be further complicated by Barcelona’s financial situation, with the club recording a loss of £65 million and debts of £272 million for the 2009-10 accounting year.
Rosell also admitted that relations between the two clubs were soured by Arsenal recruiting Jon Miguel Toral from the Barcelona academy.

“Our relationship with Arsenal is not good – the Toral issue has not pleased us,” Rosell said. “The future of Cesc is in his hands and we could only negotiate with Arsenal if Guardiola insists. Only with any sale is it possible to increase the money for the negotiations.”

SOURCE: Telegraph

Is Sandro Rosell serious? A valuation of £43m in today’s market seems more than reasonable, and clearly if they are not willing to pay it then fine, but if not then surely they have to respect a club’s decision on the matter. If I go to a shop and they are charging x amount for a product and I can’t afford it or I think it’s too much, then I don’t bother to hassle the shop or get angry about it, I leave.

Barcelona will of course continue to play the media game this summer and if anyone think’s this is the end of the matter, they are seriously mistaken. Cesc Fabregas is very much a player Pep Guardiola wants but one has to wonder at the wisdom of such a move for the Emirates skipper.

Where would the talented Spanish international fit into the starting eleven? Neither Xavi or Andres Iniesta will be dropped, so where exactly will he find himself? That’s right, on the Nou Camp bench. That’s not because he isn’t a great player, it’s because he isn’t as good as either of those two fellow Spaniards, which is no shame as both are considered the best in the business in their respective positions.

Such a purchase by the Catalan giants would be a view to the future and not to now, and Fabregas would have to take this into account before pushing for a move away from the Emirates. The likes of Samir Nasri, Andrei Arshavin and Robin Van Persie are also reportedly being chased by interested parties, but don’t expect manager’s of the club’s pursuing them to say “It’s not fair, Arsenal want too much money!”.

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Injured skipper Fabregas targets Rovers tie

Cesc Fabregas is hopeful he will be able to overcome his latest fitness problem and return to the Arsenal side for their home game against Blackburn Rovers after the international break.

Fabregas suffered a hamstring injury in the Champions League defeat at Barcelona at the start of March and has missed the FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Manchester United and Saturday's disappointing 2-2 draw against West Brom in the Premier League.

However, the midfielder, who has had persistent injury problems this season, has started running again and now hopes to return to captain Arsene Wenger's team.

"My injury is getting better," Fabregas said in a video broadcast for his Twitter followers. "I started running on Monday and everything is getting better.

"I needed time, because it has been a weird season for me with injuries and I just want to make it right. I want to come back stronger than ever and hopefully fitter than ever so it won't happen again. Hopefully you will see me play against Blackburn if I am fit."

Meanwhile, Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner suffered an ankle injury in training with Denmark on Wednesday and required an ice pack. It is not known how serious the problem is.

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