Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Fabregas wants to stay at Barcelona, says Vilanova

The Red Devils have made an opening offer of €30m for the 26-year-old, but his coach insists the Spain midfielder wants to prove himself at Camp Nou

Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova has cooled speculation linking midfielder Cesc Fabregas to Manchester United, insisting the 26-year-old wants to stay with the Catalan club.

The English champions have made an opening offer of €30 million for the former Arsenal captain, who has failed to hold down a regular first-team place since returning to Camp Nou.

Having already seen Thiago depart to rejoin former boss Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, Barcelona are keen to avoid losing another world-class La Masia graduate this summer.

And Vilanova is confident Fabregas is still motivated by the prospect of proving himself at his boyhood club and has no thoughts of returning to the Premier League.

Speaking to reporters, Vilanova said: "I am aware that we have received offers from other teams. I talked with him and he told me he wants to stay.

"Cesc doesn't contemplate the possibility of going to another club. He knows that the competition here is great. His dream is to succeed here. I'm totally calm."