"€100 million for Gareth Bale seems crazy to me"

Gareth Bale has been linked with Real Madrid during this transfer window. The rumours place the transaction in the region of €100 million. According to Cesc Fàbregas, these sums just prove that football is completely detached from reality. "€100 million for Bale seems crazy to me. I don't know how they can pay out that kind of money with the way things are," he said from the national team camp in Rio de Janeiro.

The Barcelona midfielder acknowledges the virtues of both Bale and Neymar, his new teammate after Barça shelled out €57 million to Santos. "He will need time to settle in, because he's coming from a completely different type of football to the one he'll find here," he said of the Brazilian.

In his opinion, the addition of Neymar will not lead to any kind of upheaval in the dressing room, and nor does he expect any problems with Messi. "He's won four Ballons D'Or and he's probably the best player in history, but you wouldn't guess it to look at him when you see him in the morning," he said about the Argentinean.

His short-term future is at the Camp Nou and he does not have any news on interest from other clubs. "I want to triumph at home," he assured. One thing is necessary to make that happen: the continued presence of Tito Vilanova. Cesc admits that his prolonged absence last season hurt the team. "Two people with serious health problems is something which destabilises the squad," he finished by saying.