Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood today revealed Barcelona have assured the Gunners they will not bid for Cesc Fabregas this summer.
Speculation has long linked the Arsenal captain with a return to the Catalan club, where he spent several years as a youth player before moving to north London.
Barca star Lionel Messi was today reported as saying he believed it was just a matter of time before Fabregas returned to the Nou Camp as he "has Barcelona in his blood".
But Hill-Wood is convinced a deal is not in the pipeline as the Spanish champions are happy with their current crop of players.
Hill-Wood revealed that talks between the clubs during their recent Champions League tie ruled out the possibility of Fabregas joining up with Pep Guardiola's side.
"There was a private conversation that took place and assurances have been made at the highest possible level," Hill-Wood said. "Arsenal do not expect those to be broken.
"They said to us they are not interested [this summer]. Subsequent to the conversation, if they are interested at any time in the future, they would come to us direct.
"However, I'm not sure they are going to do that, because they told us they are pretty happy with what they have got and are pretty happy with their current players."
But this summer's presidential elections mean the Barca hierarchy is set to change before the transfer window closes and could render such assurances meaningless.
Read More
Hill-Wood also stated his belief that Fabregas might not even get into the Barca team since they have star duo Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
