• La Liga

Fabregas: United move never on

ESPN staff
October 26, 2013
Cesc Fabregas has made an impressive start to the season © Getty Images
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Cesc Fabregas insists a move to Manchester United from Barcelona was never on the cards this summer.

Fabregas was the subject of serious interest from new United boss David Moyes this summer, with the club submitting at least two bids.

Moyes hoped that Fabregas' fears over playing time at the Camp Nou in a World Cup year might edge him towards a return to England, where he spent eight years with Arsenal before making the move back to Barcelona.

However, new Barcelona boss Gerardo Martino reassured Fabregas he was central to his plans this season, with the player going on to put in a series of impressive displays.

"I never planned to go back this summer," Fabregas told The Guardian. "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.

"When I heard [about United's bid], I contacted Darren [Dein, my agent] and he confirmed that it had come out officially. He said: 'Yes, it's true. 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.

"The season's started brilliantly. [Martino] lets me play the way that suits my qualities and I'm very comfortable, very happy. I feel better all the time, more and more central. The coach is giving me more opportunities, more status, more leadership.

"On the first day - well, not the first day, but maybe the third or fourth, early on - he called me over and told me: 'I want you to be the player you were at Arsenal' and I thought 'wow!' because I'd always felt so good at Arsenal, so important."

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