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Barcelona hope to capture Fabregas mid-World Cup

Cesc Fabregas and Carles Puyol could soon be club mates © Getty Images

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• News: Barca will not pay €50m for Fabregas
  

Barcelona corporate director general Joan Oliver hopes a deal can be reached for Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas during the World Cup.

Fabregas is currently on international duty with Spain but, while many deals will be put on hold for the duration of the tournament, Barca are eager to hold talks with Arsene Wenger in South Africa.

"Cesc has arrived in South Africa to play the World Cup, but there are a lot of football people there," Oliver said. "Wenger will be there and there will also be representatives of Barca.

"This is a three-sided affair and the third side (Arsenal) have not expressed themselves in any way. There is a player who wants to come here, but he has a contract.

"We have made an offer (€35 million) and they have said that the player is not for sale. The problem is between the player and the club (Arsenal). We haven't been invited to the table (to negotiate)."

Real Madrid are also rumoured to be interested in Fabregas, but Oliver believes Arsenal are using the link to drive up the player's price.

"They can negotiate with whoever they like," he said, "but what a coincidence... when Barca are negotiating for a player, another club appears out of the blue - it's always the same.

"We complete signings when the price is reasonable, and the story of Cesc is what it is. The player has said both publicly and privately that he wants to play for Barca."

He added: "You can never predict when a signing will be closed. In this world, when you put a deadline on it, you always end up losing out."

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