Francesc Fàbregas is a central midfielder who plays for Barcelona and Spain. Fàbregas was born and bred in Barcelona and was coming up through their youth system when Arsenal signed him in 2003. Due to injuries to some of Arsenal’s key players his debut came sooner than expected. He gradually established himself in the starting XI when Patrick Vieira was injured and when Vieira eventually left for Juventus in summer 2005. Despite injuries Fàbregas was given the Arsenal captaincy during the 2008/09 season.
The young spaniard developed into one of the greatest playmakers in English football. He also made considerable impact in the Spanish national team, the current European Champions and World Champions. The Spanish fans wanted to see him play in the Spanish La Liga and Barcelona wanted their prodigy back. After the 2010 FIFA World Cup Arsenal rejected a €35M bid from Barcelona. It was however highly anticipated to be a matter of when, not if, Fàbregas would make his return to the Catalonian super club.

On August 15th 2011 Fàbregas returned to Barcelona, for a fee of €34 million with a further €5 million in variables. He made his debut in the second leg of the Spanish Supercopa against Real Madrid, coming on as a substitute in the 3-2 win. Fàbregas, who turned 24 in May, has signed a five year contract with Barcelona.