MADRID: Cesc Fabregas is itching to make his La Liga debut for Barcelona now a strike over unpaid player wages has been resolved and the season can get underway.
The Spain midfielder, who has returned to his boyhood club after eight years with English Premier League side Arsenal, has a chance to make his first league appearance at the Nou Camp on Monday when the champions host Villarreal (2330 IST).
They were due to begin their title defence at Malaga last weekend but the players’ union (AFE) called a strike to force the football league (LFP) to stump up more cash to cover wages not paid by clubs in financial difficulty.
The two sides finally sealed an agreement yesterday, meaning the second round of matches can take place starting tomorrow with Sporting Gijon against Real Sociedad (1600). The first round matches will be played in January.
”We just want everything to get going now so that we can get back to playing matches,” Fabregas, 24, told a news conference before today’s European Super Cup clash with Porto in Monaco. Too much attention had also been paid to an ugly brawl that marred Barca’s Spanish Super Cup victory over Real Madrid this month, Fabregas’s first silverware with the Catalan giants, he added. ”There has been too much talk,” he said. ”The matter is closed.” (Agencies)