The manager did not think Barca would sell Fabregas.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has revealed he was surprised Barcelona even considered selling Cesc Fabregas to him this summer.
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After a frustrating three years with his boyhood club Fabregas was allowed to return to the Premier League earlier this year in a £30m deal.
The 27-year-old knows English football well having spent eight years with Arsenal previously and the Gunners were given the first option to re-sign their former captain.
The North Londoners rejected the chance however and Mourinho has admitted he was shocked, not because his rivals turned down Fabregas but because he was even allowed to leave the Nou Camp at all.
“I thought he was going to stay at Barcelona,” the Blues boss was quoted by the Mirror.
“I was looking at him as the natural successor of players that were getting older, like Xavi.
“The surprise for me was not that he didn’t go to Arsenal, but that he was leaving Barcelona.”
Fabregas has been typically brilliant since his comeback to the English top tier, linking up well with his new teammates and establishing a good relationship with fellow new signing Diego Costa.
Mourinho’s team are among the favourites to win the title in 2014/15, something the Spain international failed to do during his time under Arsene Wenger’s guidance.
READ MORE: Chelsea transfer rumours.
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