Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta has launched an attack on English clubs as means of justification for his ill-judged public pursuit of Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas last summer.
Laporta, who is no longer involved with teh Catalan club, was left with egg on his face after failing to lure the Gunners skipper back to his homeland as one final 'gift' before his tenure came to an end.
Barcelona played heavily on Cesc's 'DNA' during their chase, the player having come through the ranks at the Nou Camp until his departure in 2003.
However with financial uncertainty gripping the Spanish champions, they tabled a derisory £29million bid, still £28.5m more than they had sold him for eight years ago.
'The English come here to do fishing,' Laporta said ahead of the Champions League showdown between Arsenal and Barcelona at Emirates on Wednesday. 'They came to fish for Gerard Pique and Cesc. It’s an issue of justice, we now want to recover them.'
Fabregas moved to London at the age of 16, around the time Pique was signed from the same youth team by Manchester United on a free transfer as he was not yet old enough to sign a professional contract.
Pique failed to have the same impact in the Premier League as his one-time team-mate and returned to Barcelona in 2008 having played just 23 games.
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