MX23RW : Saturday, November 9 02:07:23| >> :120:13159:13159:

On this day: Cesc Fabregas leaves Arsenal for Barcelona

On this day in 2011, Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas left Arsenal to sign for Barcelona.

After Arsenal rejected a €35m offer from Barcelona during the summer of 2010, the writing was seemingly on the wall regarding the departure of Cesc Fabregas from the Gunners.

The Spanish maestro was becoming an increasingly pivotal figure at the Emirates Stadium, carrying the captaincy and burden of ensuring Arsenal's top-four position with such effect that his former club came calling for his services.

While he remained faithful to the club that had acted as his home for seven years, there was a growing feeling that his eighth would be his last, especially after Arsenal ended the season with no trophies after reaching the mid-point of the campaign with the potential of four.

As expected, Barcelona contacted the Gunners in 2011 with bids for the creative head of Arsenal's side, and after a prolonged saga of "will he, won't he" return to the club where he spent six years of his youth, an offer of €29m plus extras was accepted.

With a heavy heart, Fabregas signed on the dotted line at the Catalan club, ending his association with the English outfit after netting 57 goals in 303 appearances.

Cesc Fabregas© PA Photos

There was much anticipation from Camp Nou supporters as to where Fabregas would fit in amongst the genius of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, and whether he would establish a place in the starting lineup at all.

But Fabregas soon made an impact at the club, netting in Barca's Super Cup triumph over Porto before going on to score four times in the opening month of the La Liga season.

It had been a seemingly perfect transition for the midfielder, but his building momentum was halted by an hamstring injury that kept him out for a month.

However, he returned to the Catalan giants refreshed, continuing his hot streak in front of goal and going on to win the Club World Cup late in 2011.

Barca missed out in La Liga and the Champions League, but the campaign was a personal success for Fabregas, who registered 15 goals and 20 assists in 48 appearances.

Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas steps off the team bus on July 15, 2013© PA Photos

The Spanish international didn't take long to get up and running in his second campaign, scoring four goals in three separate competitions as Barca looked to make up for an unsuccessful 2011-12 campaign.

Fabregas recorded his first hat-trick of his career in April as Barca cantered past Mallorca, and soon afterwards, the 26-year-old was lifting his first La Liga trophy.

It was again an impressive year on a personal level for Fabregas, who added another 14 goals to his Barcelona tally, but has not prevented speculation linking him with a return to England this summer.

Manchester United have made several big-money bids for the Spaniard's services, who remained coy over the interest as he awaited reassurance from Barcelona over his role with the club.

Fabregas has since come out and stated that he is happy at Camp Nou, but until the transfer window slams shut on September 2, his future in Spain could remain an uncertain one.

ID:98691: cacheID:98691:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5090:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring in his side's match with Valencia on February 3, 2013
Read Next:
Team News: Messi starts on Barca bench
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!