Barcelona Transfer News: Pursuit of Cesc Fabregas Rooted in Pride, Not Football

If you follow world football, you've heard the name Cesc Fabregas.

The Arsenal captain and midfielder is one of the best players in the world, and he also happens to face a very uncertain future.

Barcelona, Fabregas' boyhood club, has picked up their relentless pursuit of the Spaniard, and Arsene Wenger, the Gunners' manager, is fighting tooth and nail to hold on to his prized possession.

The Champions League winners have made numerous bids, but have failed to match Arsenal's asking price for the midfield sensation.

This saga has stretched across multiple seasons, and the roots of this battle are rooted in Fabregas' initial departure from the Nou Camp in 2003.

Wenger is a vilified figure among most Barcelona supporters for his recruiting practices as it pertains to Barca's young prospects.

Plenty of teams have signed the club's most talented young players in the past, but Wenger is portrayed as a cradle robber, using Spanish labor laws to his advantage.

This is the case with Fabregas and two signings this summer, Jon Toral and Hector Bellerin.

In Spain, footballers cannot sign a professional contract until they're 18, prohibiting Barca from locking up their top prospects. Wenger has inked numerous prospects this way, and it has rubbed the club and its supporters the wrong way.

Fabregas signed before he was 18 and was molded into one of the best midfielders in the world under Wenger's watchful eye. Barcelona never forgot about this and have always wanted their former starlet back.

It certainly isn't because of a need in the midfield, that's for sure.

Barcelona has Xavi and Iniesta in the midfield and Thiago Alcantara is a promising prospect that should star for the club in the future.

Fabregas would be overkill and it would create a logjam on the depth chart.

However, this isn't about football—this is about pride and doing things the right way in Barca's eyes.

Prying starlets away without giving Barcelona a fair shot at them doesn't sit well with the club's top brass, and this is a stand against that type of behavior.

There is nothing illegal with Wenger's actions, but it is seen as dishonorable by Barca supporters.

Fabregas is a top talent, but for Barcelona, he's a luxury, and if the club signs him, they don't just gain a star midfielder.

The world's top club will get its revenge, ripping the heart out of Wenger's club, taking his best player just to make him one of the boys on the Barca roster. 

Nothing else matters to Barcelona but getting back what they believe is rightfully theirs.