Cesc Fabregas has revealed Barcelona tried to stop his transfer away from the club this summer.
The 27-year-old agreed terms to sign for Chelsea and will join the Blues after the completion of the World Cup campaign with Spain. The Catalan club had earlier slammed the former Arsenal skipper after Barcelona claimed Fabregas’ performance had dropped in his final season at Camp Nou.
However, the Spain international has revealed the La Liga giants’ president Josep Maria Bartomeu tried to block his move to Chelsea.
“I asked Barcelona to find a way for me to leave the club. The president tried to stop the sale, but I already had my mind made up,” Fabregas told Cadena Cope.
“At the time, I spoke with [sporting director] Andoni Zubizarreta and the president [Josep Maria Bartomeu] and I told them I wanted to leave.”
“Honestly, it all went really smoothly. I’m not leaving for any specific reason, if not for a multitude of different things, my own errors and that’s it.
“If I didn’t think that I’d be happy at Chelsea, I would’ve never made this decision. Above all, I want to be happy both professionally and personally.”
“[Chelsea have] great players – young and talented – and building a great team with new signings. I have no doubt I’ll be happy, I lived in London for eight years, I have friends [and] family there,” the former Barcelona midfielder concluded.
Fabregas spent eight seasons at Arsenal before joining the Spanish club in 2011. However, Barcelona allowed the player to make a return to the Premier League as they were looking to raise funds by allowing the midfielder leave the club in the summer transfer window.
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