Barcelona still hoping to sign Fabregas

Barcelona are still hoping to sign Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas, despite manager Arsène Wenger saying that Arsenal have no intention of selling their best players.

The Catalans have had a reported €35 million bid rejected, with Arsenal responding that they wouldn't be entertaining any further bids, regardless of the price.

But the Spaniards are counting on negotiations to still continue during the World Cup, with Wenger and senior Barcelona officials out in South Africa.

Barca's corporate director general Joan Oliver said: "Cesc has arrived in South Africa for the World Cup, but there are a lot of football people there.

"Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and Barca representatives will be there.

"You can never predict when a signing will be closed. In this world, when you put a deadline on it, you always end up losing out.

"This is a three-sided affair and the third side [Arsenal] have not expressed themselves in any way.

"There is a player who wants to come here, but he has a contract. We have made an offer and they have said that the player is not for sale.

"The problem is between the player and the club [Arsenal]; we haven't been invited to the table [to negotiate].

"We complete signings when the price is reasonable. And the story of Cesc is what it is. The player has said both publicly and privately that he wants to play for Barca."

Wenger said: "What is important is that Cesc has a great World Cup and that he comes back to Arsenal with a great desire to do well for the club.

"We want to keep our best players – that's my huge determination – I built this team for years from 16 and 17 years of age with most of the players.

"We want to continue to work with them because we feel we are very close, and strengthen the team in a very strong way."

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