Fab defeat disappoints Barca

Barcelona are disappointed to have missed out on Cesc Fabregas, having done all they could to snap him up.

The Catalan giants have been forced to admit defeat in their efforts to return the Arsenal midfielder to his roots after a summer-long chase.

One of the most drawn out transfer sagas of recent times dragged on over several months, with little progress appearing to be made.

Barca were vocal in their desire to bring Fabregas back to his homeland and the Gunners skipper admitted on several occasions that he would welcome a switch to Camp Nou.

However, the matter was finally laid to rest on Friday when Fabregas announced that he would be staying at Emirates Stadium for at least one more season.

Regrets

He revealed that Barca had made two bids for his services, which were both knocked back, but insisted that he had no qualms about staying put.

Arsenal never wavered in their desire to keep their captain at the club and are delighted to have seen him put the matter to bed.

Barca, though, have been left frustrated, even though they admit that they never offered the kind of money it was reported it would take to sign Fabregas.

A statement released by the club read: "In the light of the statement released today regarding the contractual future of Cesc Fabregas, FC Barcelona regrets the decision of Arsenal FC to declare the player not for sale and their decision not to take into consideration the offers proposed. None of those offers, in any way, exceeded 40 million euros (Ј33.3m)."

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Aguirre wants El Tri to bring a winning attitude to the field, not just the locker roomXavi backs bid for Fabregas