Martino insists Fabregas will not leave

New Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino has confirmed that Cesc Fabregas will stay at the club, regardless of any bids from Manchester United.

The 50-year-old Argentinian gave his first press conference on Friday after signing a two-year contract earlier this week, and he was quick to shoot down talk of the Spaniard leaving.

“Manchester United want Cesc? If the club rejected two offers, I will reject it a third time. Cesc will be here,” he insisted.

“It’s normal United are interested, it’s an honour, but we count on Cesc and we won’t sell, no matter the offer.”

His words will be a big disappointment to the Premier League side who have already missed out on targets Thiago Alcantara and Kevin Strootman in the close-season as they prepare for life without Paul Scholes in midfield and Alex Ferguson on the bench.

When probed about other possible transfers for the Liga champions, Martino insisted he would need time before coming to any decisions.

“Signing a centre back? I need more time to have an opinion, I didn’t even see the squad train,” he added.

“I will today travel to Oslo to join the team, I’ll attend the game and then we return to welcome the Spanish and Brazilian players.”