The Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has not given up hope of signing Arsenal's captain, Cesc Fábregas, this summer. Fábregas informed the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, earlier this month of his desire to leave the Emirates and the Spanish champions are hopeful of tying up a deal, despite admitting they face difficult negotiations with Arsenal.

"We are being prudent in the sense that we are not going to do things that are not logical," Laporta said. "We have a player who has expressed his intention of coming to Barcelona. He [Fábregas] has said it and I want to thank him publicly for that decision."

With Fábregas's contract at the club expiring in 2015, however, Arsenal control the player's immediate future.

"We are working on it," said Laporta. "We will try to achieve his signature and if we don't get there with time, at least we will have opened a path. The possibility is always there but the other part [Arsenal] has to defend their interests and perhaps has a different strategy. We are trying to find a halfway point for both sides to agree."

Fábregas is currently preparing to represent Spain in the World Cup. The 23-year-old has been at Arsenal since leaving Barcelona as a teenager.