Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has reportedly been offered to both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
New Chelsea boss Antonio Conte left the Spain international out of his starting line-up for Monday night’s Premier League opener against West Ham United, preferring instead new signing N’Golo Kante, and a report in the Daily Mirror claims that besides the Spanish giants he has also been linked with moves to Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.
Nonetheless, former club Barca are understood to have ruled themselves out of the race, having just spent €35m on Portugal midfielder Andre Gomes, a fee which could rise to €55m with add-ons, while Madrid currently have a surplus of midfield players and are looking to offload James Rodriguez and possibly Isco.
It is reported that Fabregas’ representatives contacted Los Blancos’ President Florentino Perez to determine whether the Spanish giants might be interested, but is understood he received little encouragement as Madrid are not keen to pay the London club’s asking price.
Conte, in the meantime, said after the West Ham clash that Fabregas still has a future at Stamford Bridge.
“Cesc is a Chelsea player and I’m happy with him, with his attitude and behaviour,” insisted the Italian.
“He must know from before that with a great team like Chelsea these things can happen and that I have to make a decision before the game to choose the starting XI.
“It can happen that Fabregas is not in the starting line-up, but it can happen to all players. It’s important to always see the right attitude because we must fight this season and it’s important to stay together in every situation.”
