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| Fabregas now a blue. |
Chelsea have signed former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona on a five-year deal.
The Spaniard, 27, spent three years at Barca and joins the Blues after Arsenal turned down a first option to buy him.
While the fee for his move is unknown, the Spanish club were happy for him to leavefor a fee in the region of £30m.
The arrival of Fabregas at Chelsea comes 10 days after England midfielder Frank Lampard announced he would end his 13-year stay at Stamford Bridge. Defender David Luiz is alsoon the verge of completing a move to Paris St-Germain.
And Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is also keen to finalise the transfer of his Spanish team-mate Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid.
"They have an amazing squad of players and an incredible manager. I am fully committed to this team and I can't wait to start playing," added Fabregas, who has 89 caps for Spain.
Fabregas, who scored 50 times in 305 games for Arsenal during his previous spell in England, will join Ramires, Nemanja Matic and John Obi Mikel as central midfield options for Mourinho.
He scored 35 goals in 129 appearances for Barcelona, but it failed to earn him a regular role at
the Nou Camp, with the trio of Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets viewed as the club's main midfield combination.
Fabregas, Arsenal's youngest ever player at just 16 years and 177 days, was expected to be the subject of a bid from his former club.
"Yes, everyone knows that Arsenal had the first option to sign me," added Fabregas, who said it was "extremely important" the move was completed before the World Cup finals.
"They decided not to take this option and therefore it wasn't meant to be. I wish them well in the future."
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech welcomed the signing: "Well if it's confirmed obviously he's a great player, with a lot of experience of playing in England and the Premier League so it's a great addition to the team."
Barcelona schooled Fabregas in their La Masia academy from the age of 10 and thanked him for "his professionalism and dedication during his years at the club".
He could feature in Spain's World Cup Group B opener against Netherlands on Friday.