Earlier in the week, Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood told ESPN that Barcelona officials have ruled out an attempt to sign Cesc Fabregas this summer.
Fabregas joined Arsenal from Barcelona in 2003, leaving the club he had joined as a 10-year-old. Since his rise to prominence in the Premier League, however, speculation about his return to the blaugrana has always hovered over the young midfielder. To most fans, it’s a matter of when and not if.
Hill-Wood insisted he is sure that Fabregas is going nowhere – at least not this summer.
“They said to us they are not interested [this summer]. It was a recent conversation, as recent as the time that they played us in the Champions League in fact as we got a bit upset because of all the media speculation.”
However, Barcelona technical secretary Txiki Bergiristain has denied those claims, saying, “We have never said that we will not try to sign Cesc Fabregas. We will see what happens.”
The Catalan giants stormed into the Champions League semifinals after beating Arsenal at the Camp Nou, and over the weekend they took a huge stride in their La Liga title defense with a 2-0 win over Real Madrid in the Spanish capital.
Fabregas has said in the past that he wants to stay at Arsenal and deliver some silverware – providing vindication in manager Arsene Wenger’s policy to rely on young talent. But with his home-town club towering at the top of world football at the moment, a move back to Catalonia has to look pretty enticing for the young Spaniard.
Benitez Gets Juve Ultimatum
Juventus has reportedly given Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez ten days to decide whether or not he is interested in taking the reigns at the troubled Italian club.
Benitez has come under a great deal of criticism this season for Liverpool’s lackluster performances, and it now looks unlikely that the club will manage 4th place in the league and the lucrative Champions League qualification spot that goes with it.
Juventus is promising a large transfer budget for Benitez to work with, something that Liverpool has not had under the ownership of George Gillet and Tom Hicks.
Real Madrid have also been touted as a possible destination for Benitez, as Manuel Pellegrini is rumored to be on thin ice at the Spanish capital. And we all know the type of money Real could offer to Benitez, if this past summer is any evidence.
“The intention of Benitez is to fulfill the contract that he has with Liverpool until 2014 but it’s true that the club is subject to fluctuations in their financial situation,” said his agent Manuel Garcia Quilon.
“They could influence the future of the club and therefore Benitez as well.”
Liverpool are currently six points behind fourth-place Manchester City, who have a game in-hand as well.
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