Fabregas: I owe medal to Gunners... but I'm not saying if I'm staying

Cesc Fabregas last night dedicated his World Cup winner’s medal to Arsenal - but refused to pledge his future to the club.

Fabregas declined to answer whether he wanted to stay at Arsenal next season even though Arsene Wenger insists Barcelona are wasting their time in trying to sign his captain.

Spanish hero Fabregas says it was a slip of the tongue as he spoke about being an Arsenal player in the past tense after winning the World Cup and did reveal Wenger was one of the first to congratulate him.

“I am really proud to have been an Arsenal player,” said Fabregas before correcting himself when quizzed.

“I am an Arsenal player and I am really proud to be able to give this trophy to all the fans. It is for all of them - they deserve it and they have a world famous club.

“All I can say now is that this is for the Arsenal players, for the Arsenal fans, for the manager and for all of the staff.

“I have had lots of texts and Blackberry messages. My phone is full. I had a text from Arsene Wenger. He said congratulations, you deserve it.

“I replied thanks you very much and said this is for all the Arsenal club, manager and players who have helped me be where I am today. I am, really proud. I will never take this medal off, I have two now!”

Barcelona have already had a £30m bid turned down, Arsenal boss Wenger and chief executive Ivan Gazidis snubbed the Spanish club’s attempts to gold a transfer summit in South Africa and yet Fabregas was reluctant to clear up any doubts.

Fabregas has already told Wenger face-to-face that he wants to join Barcelona but Arsenal have remained defiant that he has five years left on his contract and will not be sold at any price.

Arsenal appear to be winning the war in the transfer saga and are increasingly confident of keeping Fabregas who has softened his position recently and admitted he may still stay at the Emirates next season.

Fabregas also paid tribute to the support of his family. He had told them to stay away in South Africa because he was so disappointed to be on the bench throughout the tournament after missing the end of the season through injury.

But Fabregas revealed he then believed something “special” would happen in the final and told them to come and they saw his supersub display for Spain as he helped his nation win the World Cup for the first time.

Fabregas, who also went across to console Arsenal team mate Robin van Persie at the final whistle, said: “It is a great moment for me and every Spaniard and every Spanish player.

“We were very proud of what we have achieved. We never thought we could make it. It is something special and we are very, very happy about it.

“It was a difficult tournament for me because I didn’t play a lot. I had something inside me telling me that I would get my chance.

“My family came to support me because they believed my chance would come. It went brilliantly and I am very, very proud.

“It has been hard but believe me now it doesn’t matter at all because it is one of best moments of my life.

“I have to thank all the staff for trusting in me and believing in me even if they knew I wasn’t at my best.

“They kept faith in me, put me in the squad and brought me here. And now we are living a dream. At the final whistle I just saw Xavi there and hugged him.

“We have been playing good football since Euro 2008 we believed it was our moment to do it.

“We believed it was our moment to do it a bit like the French side who did the double. We wanted to be the same - we have a special team and special squad and we had to take our chance.

“It is a special group of players. The last time it was Senna, so many other good people - now we have Busquets, Pique We have great players who are coming through.

“Spanish football is growing and we have to be proud of it. This is the best thing that can happen to a group of players.”