Chelsea new boy Cesc Fabregas insists he told Barcelona he wanted to leave

Cesc Fabregas: Making a return to the EPL with Chelsea

Chelsea’s new signing, Cesc Fabregas, has insisted that it was he who told Barcelona to allow him to leave, not the other way around.

Fabregas, 27, was apparently told at the end of the season, by Barcelona, that he would be sold to raise funds in order to bring new talent to the club as they go through an overhaul of the squad.

New manager Luis Enrique has already welcomed Marc-Andre ter Stegen through the doors, as well as replacing Fabregas with Croatia star Ivan Rakitic.

Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes, Pinto have all left and are set to be followed by Xavi, who has apparently joined Al Arabi. It spells a huge summer of change at the Catalan club who failed to win either La Liga, Copa del Rey or the Champions League last season.

Fabregas joined Chelsea last week for £26.6 million and has now rubbished the reports that he was told to leave, instead claiming that it was he who told Barcelona to let him leave the club.

“I asked Barcelona to find a way for me to leave the club. The president tried to stop the sale, but I already had my mind made up,” he told Cadena Cope.

“At the time, I spoke with [sporting director] Andoni Zubizarreta and the president [Josep Maria Bartomeu] and I told them I wanted to leave.

“Honestly, it all went really smoothly. I’m not leaving for any specific reason, if not for a multitude of different things, my own errors and that’s it.

“If I didn’t think that I’d be happy at Chelsea, I would’ve never made this decision. Above all, I want to be happy both professionally and personally.

“[Chelsea have] great players – young and talented – and building a great team with new signings. I have no doubt I’ll be happy, I lived in London for eight years, I have friends [and] family there.”