Fernando Torres warns Cesc Fabregas to steer clear of Barcelona

Fabregas has long been linked with a return to Barcelona (GETTY IMAGES)

Fernando Torres has suggested his Spain team-mate Cesc Fabregas is better off staying at Arsenal because he might not get a game if he switched to Barcelona.

Asked if he thought Barcelona would improve if they signed Fabregas, Torres – who is set to play for Spain against Lithuania tonight – said: "It's a question for [the coach Pep] Guardiola but I think it is very difficult to improve on what they already have. If Cesc comes then who do you take out?

"He is valued and respected a lot more in England than in Spain, where he has never played. If you talk about Fabregas in England then you are talking about one of the best three players in the League. He would do OK in Barcelona but I repeat that it is very difficult to improve that team."

Torres also hit out again at the way Liverpool treated his departure from the club: "Sometimes it does not matter that you behaved perfectly at a club or that you always took the club's side in difficult times. If you are lucky enough that the club help you then you should be grateful – that is what happened to me at Atletico Madrid, but at Liverpool everything was a problem."

On his former team-mate Javier Mascherano's departure from the club, he added: "He is a great professional. I hope he has a lot of success at Barcelona and finds a place for himself there. He did many very good things at Liverpool and they did not treat him well when he left."