By Fab4.
Barcelona have now made an official offer to Arsenal for captain Cesc Fabregas. After weeks of speculation and outrageous ‘tapping-up’ from the Catalan giants, it now seems as if they have finally stopped talking and submitted an offer. Barcelona officials say they opened ‘formal’ talks on Tuesday and submitted a written offer for Fabregas, although it seems there may not be any advance on agreeing a fee.
A Barcelona spokesperson told the BBC that:
“An informal conversation with Arsenal became formal on 1 June and now an official approach has been made to the club,” said a Barca spokesman.
The Barca spokesman added: “Before 1 June, under English rules, we could not make an official approach to Arsenal for Fabregas, but that changed on Tuesday.
“I don’t think there is a special advance on, say, the price or anything, but it has moved on now.”
Barcelona director general Joan Oliver revealed on the club’s official website:
“Everyone knows that Cesc wants to play with Barca and everyone know we want him to sign but here there is a third actor that is Arsenal.
“Yesterday [Tuesday] we presented a concrete offer and have written to Arsenal.”
The exact details of the offer are unknown, but it’s safe to assume their first offer will be rejected out of hand by Arsenal as until now Barca officials have been talking about a bid of around £30-£35m, which is well-short of Fabregas’s market value. Fabregas-to-Barcelona is set to be this summers big transfer story and i don’t see it coming to a close any time soon unless Barca get realistic about what it will take to sign a player like Cesc.
