Cesc Fabregas to Chelsea: Midfielder claims Barcelona tried to block the £30m move

Spaniard signed a five-year deal with Chelsea last week

Cesc Fabregas poses with his Chelsea shirt after signing (chelseafc.com)

Cesc Fabregas has claimed that Barcelona were reluctant to sell him, with president Josep Maria Bartomeu initially trying to block his £30 move to Chelsea.

Barca took the unusual step of releasing a statement saying that there had been a "downward trend" in Fabregas's performances since he moved to the Nou Camp from Arsenal in 2011, but the 27-year-old insists that it was him that wanted to leave.

"I asked Barcelona to find a way for me to leave the club. The president tried to stop the sale, but I already had my mind made up," he told Cadena Cope.

"At the time, I spoke with [sporting director] Andoni Zubizarreta and the president [Josep Maria Bartomeu] and I told them I wanted to leave.

"Honestly, it all went really smoothly. I'm not leaving for any specific reason, if not for a multitude of different things, my own errors and that’s it.

"If I didn't think that I'd be happy at Chelsea, I would've never made this decision. Above all, I want to be happy both professionally and personally.

"[Chelsea have] great players - young and talented - and building a great team with new signings. I have no doubt I'll be happy, I lived in London for eight years, I have friends [and] family there."