Ex-Gunners star ‘never planned to go back’.
Cesc Fabregas has revealed he never thought about leaving Barcelona this summer despite firm interest from Manchester United.
United had two bids rejected for Fabgreas and were reportedly willing to pay as much as £40m for the playmaker.
But Fabregas, who spent eight seasons with Arsenal before returning to Catalonia in summer 2011, always insisted he was not interest in returning to the Premier League and reiterated his stance in an interview with The Guardian.
When asked if he was tempted to go back, he said: “I don’t know. But I never planned to go back this summer. It’s not something I was even thinking about. I was always clear in my mind that I want to succeed at Barcelona and I’d give everything to triumph here.
“I said openly: I haven’t even thought about leaving, I’m not going. I heard about it when I was in Ibiza with friends. A friend read it in the paper and told me, then I read it…
“When I heard [about United’s interest], I contacted Darren [Dein, my agent] and he confirmed that it had come out officially. He said: “Yes, it’s true.” He said: “What do you want to do?” I didn’t know anything about it [until then].
“If a club comes in for you and you tell your representative that you want to go, then you go. I spoke to [Josep Maria] Bartomeu, the vice-president, and he told me: “You’re not going anywhere; we have complete confidence in you.”
“Then I spoke to the president. I was very relaxed about the whole thing because that’s what they transmitted to me. It’s true that they had offers, and they told me that, but the only thing in my head was staying at Barcelona.
“At no time did I say that I wanted to go and I stayed out of it. I was surprised. I didn’t encourage them at all,” finished the Spaniard.
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