Cesc Fabregas has completed his move to Barcelona from Arsenal by signing a five-year contract with the La Liga giants.
The Spain international, who has had a 200 million euro (over £175million) buy-out clause inserted in his contract, passed two medicals on Monday morning before putting pen to paper.
Barcelona posted a comment on their official Twitter feed which read: "Cesc has signed his contract which ties him to Barcelona until 2016."
According to the Barcelona website, Fabregas' medicals have proven him to be in perfect condition.
Barcelona's first-team doctor Ricard Pruna said: "All the tests taken have been satisfactory."
Pruna added that Fabregas "can be integrated into training without any problem."
Both Barca and Arsenal announced on Sunday that they had reached an agreement for the transfer of Fabregas, who left the Catalan club for the Gunners as a 16-year-old.
While the Gunners were always determined to keep Fabregas, it became clear this summer that the Spaniard - who made more than 300 appearances for the London club, scoring 57 goals - was no longer committed to their cause.
Barcelona saw a £27million offer rebuffed earlier in the summer, as Arsenal remained steadfast in their demands over a £40million fee.
However, with Barcelona not willing to significantly increase their cash bid, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitting the player was unsettled, the English club reluctantly have allowed a deal to go through.
The package is widely reported to include a down payment of 30 million euros (£27million), although it is not clear if that is in one lump sum, with an additional six million euros (£5.2million) in performance-based add-ons at a later stage.
There are also suggestions Fabregas is prepared to waive the £4million compensation he would be entitled to for the remainder of his long-term Arsenal contract as technically he did not ask for a transfer.
Wenger expressed disappointment at Fabregas' departure.
"We have been clear that we didn't want Cesc to leave and that remains the case," he said in a statement on Arsenal's official website.
"However, we understand Cesc's desire to move to his hometown club and have now accepted an offer from Barcelona.
"We thank Cesc for his contribution at Arsenal and wish him future success.''
Fabregas had, according to Arsenal, been struggling for match fitness because of a hamstring injury which saw him miss the club's Far East tour and other pre-season games.
Wenger omitted his captain from the Emirates Cup pre-season tournament and the midfielder was not selected for Saturday's opening Barclays Premier League fixture at Newcastle.
Despite winning both the European Championship and World Cup with Spain, club success has not followed for the midfielder, who missed Arsenal's Carling Cup final defeat to Birmingham at Wembley earlier this year through injury.
Fabregas Factfile
1987: May 4 - Born in Arenys de Mar, Catalonia.
1997: Joins Barcelona youth set-up.
2003: August - Top goalscorer and wins adidas Golden Shoe for being best player at the FIFA Under-17 World Championship.
September - Signs for Arsenal.
October 28 - Becomes the youngest player in Arsenal's history when he plays against Rotherham in League Cup.
2005: May - Helps Arsenal win FA Cup.
2006: March 1 - Wins first cap for Spain, featuring against the Ivory Coast.
March 28 - Scores in first-leg win over Juventus in Champions League quarter-final.
May 17 - Plays as Arsenal are defeated by Barca in the Champions League final.
June 14 - Became youngest player in Spanish history to participate in a World Cup when he features against Ukraine.
October 19 - Agrees new eight-year deal with Arsenal.
2007: July 13 - Admits to having met with Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon and sporting director Predrag Mijatovic about a move to the Spanish club, but following Thierry Henry's move to Barcelona says he could not leave Arsenal "in the lurch".
2008: May - Voted the PFA's Young Player of the Year.
June 29 - Starts as Spain win Euro 2008 final 1-0 against Germany.
October 7 - Reveals it would be a "dream to return to Barcelona some day".
November 24 - Named Arsenal skipper after William Gallas is stripped of captaincy.
December 23 - Ruled out of action for four months after sustaining a knee injury.
2009: March 17 - Denies an allegation of spitting at Hull assistant manager Brian Horton after Arsenal's 2-1 FA Cup semi-final win, although he is later charged and then cleared.
2010: April 26 - Included in the PFA Team of of the Year.
May 20 - Named in Spain's 2010 World Cup squad.
June 1 - Barcelona submit a written offer for Fabregas and enter "formal" discussions.
June 2 - Arsenal release a statement saying they have rejected the offer and have no intention of selling.
June/July - Makes four substitute appearances in seven games in Spain's triumphant World Cup campaign, setting up winning goal for Andres Iniesta in the final.
August 6 - Vows to respect Gunners' decision not to sell him and insists he will be "100% focused on playing for Arsenal" this season.
2011: March 8 - Apologises to Gunners fans after making mistake in the build-up to Barca's first goal in a 3-1 Champions League win over Arsenal at the Nou Camp.
June 20 - Barca president Sandro Rosell admits Catalan club are unwilling to meet Arsenal's £35million valuation of Fabregas.
August 9 - Included in Arsenal's Champions League squad for play-off round tie with Udinese.
August 14 - A deal is agreed in principle between Arsenal and Barcelona for Fabregas to return to the Nou Camp.
Read more...
The Spain international, who has had a 200 million euro (over £175million) buy-out clause inserted in his contract, passed two medicals on Monday morning before putting pen to paper.
Barcelona posted a comment on their official Twitter feed which read: "Cesc has signed his contract which ties him to Barcelona until 2016."
According to the Barcelona website, Fabregas' medicals have proven him to be in perfect condition.
Barcelona's first-team doctor Ricard Pruna said: "All the tests taken have been satisfactory."
Pruna added that Fabregas "can be integrated into training without any problem."
Both Barca and Arsenal announced on Sunday that they had reached an agreement for the transfer of Fabregas, who left the Catalan club for the Gunners as a 16-year-old.
While the Gunners were always determined to keep Fabregas, it became clear this summer that the Spaniard - who made more than 300 appearances for the London club, scoring 57 goals - was no longer committed to their cause.
Barcelona saw a £27million offer rebuffed earlier in the summer, as Arsenal remained steadfast in their demands over a £40million fee.
However, with Barcelona not willing to significantly increase their cash bid, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitting the player was unsettled, the English club reluctantly have allowed a deal to go through.
The package is widely reported to include a down payment of 30 million euros (£27million), although it is not clear if that is in one lump sum, with an additional six million euros (£5.2million) in performance-based add-ons at a later stage.
There are also suggestions Fabregas is prepared to waive the £4million compensation he would be entitled to for the remainder of his long-term Arsenal contract as technically he did not ask for a transfer.
Wenger expressed disappointment at Fabregas' departure.
"We have been clear that we didn't want Cesc to leave and that remains the case," he said in a statement on Arsenal's official website.
"However, we understand Cesc's desire to move to his hometown club and have now accepted an offer from Barcelona.
"We thank Cesc for his contribution at Arsenal and wish him future success.''
Fabregas had, according to Arsenal, been struggling for match fitness because of a hamstring injury which saw him miss the club's Far East tour and other pre-season games.
Wenger omitted his captain from the Emirates Cup pre-season tournament and the midfielder was not selected for Saturday's opening Barclays Premier League fixture at Newcastle.
Despite winning both the European Championship and World Cup with Spain, club success has not followed for the midfielder, who missed Arsenal's Carling Cup final defeat to Birmingham at Wembley earlier this year through injury.
Fabregas Factfile
1987: May 4 - Born in Arenys de Mar, Catalonia.
1997: Joins Barcelona youth set-up.
2003: August - Top goalscorer and wins adidas Golden Shoe for being best player at the FIFA Under-17 World Championship.
September - Signs for Arsenal.
October 28 - Becomes the youngest player in Arsenal's history when he plays against Rotherham in League Cup.
2005: May - Helps Arsenal win FA Cup.
2006: March 1 - Wins first cap for Spain, featuring against the Ivory Coast.
March 28 - Scores in first-leg win over Juventus in Champions League quarter-final.
May 17 - Plays as Arsenal are defeated by Barca in the Champions League final.
June 14 - Became youngest player in Spanish history to participate in a World Cup when he features against Ukraine.
October 19 - Agrees new eight-year deal with Arsenal.
2007: July 13 - Admits to having met with Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon and sporting director Predrag Mijatovic about a move to the Spanish club, but following Thierry Henry's move to Barcelona says he could not leave Arsenal "in the lurch".
2008: May - Voted the PFA's Young Player of the Year.
June 29 - Starts as Spain win Euro 2008 final 1-0 against Germany.
October 7 - Reveals it would be a "dream to return to Barcelona some day".
November 24 - Named Arsenal skipper after William Gallas is stripped of captaincy.
December 23 - Ruled out of action for four months after sustaining a knee injury.
2009: March 17 - Denies an allegation of spitting at Hull assistant manager Brian Horton after Arsenal's 2-1 FA Cup semi-final win, although he is later charged and then cleared.
2010: April 26 - Included in the PFA Team of of the Year.
May 20 - Named in Spain's 2010 World Cup squad.
June 1 - Barcelona submit a written offer for Fabregas and enter "formal" discussions.
June 2 - Arsenal release a statement saying they have rejected the offer and have no intention of selling.
June/July - Makes four substitute appearances in seven games in Spain's triumphant World Cup campaign, setting up winning goal for Andres Iniesta in the final.
August 6 - Vows to respect Gunners' decision not to sell him and insists he will be "100% focused on playing for Arsenal" this season.
2011: March 8 - Apologises to Gunners fans after making mistake in the build-up to Barca's first goal in a 3-1 Champions League win over Arsenal at the Nou Camp.
June 20 - Barca president Sandro Rosell admits Catalan club are unwilling to meet Arsenal's £35million valuation of Fabregas.
August 9 - Included in Arsenal's Champions League squad for play-off round tie with Udinese.
August 14 - A deal is agreed in principle between Arsenal and Barcelona for Fabregas to return to the Nou Camp.
Read more...
