FC Barcelona confirmed on Sunday they have reached an agreement with Arsenal to sign Spain international midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

Fabregas is set to return to the club where he began his career after eight years with Arsenal, who he joined as a 16-year-old after leaving the Barcelona youth system.

Barcelona released an official communique on Sunday night announcing a "principal of an agreement to sign the player, at the expense of the actual signing of the deal and the player passing his medical."

Fabregas will undergo his medical test with the club on Monday, before signing his contract and being presented to the press and fans.

Barcelona need to pay around 40 million euros to bring Fabregas back and the agreement has put an end to one of the longest running transfer sagas in the past few years.

The Spanish and European Champions tried to buy Fabregas last summer following the World Cup, but despite several Barcelona players trying to dress him in a Barca shirt in the celebrations following Spain's World Cup triumph, Arsenal refused to sell their captain and star player.

This summer saw Barcelona renew their attempts to buy Fabregas, but Arsenal held firm until Barcelona made an offer close enough to their 45 million euro valuation of the player.

This week began with rumors in the Spanish press that the two clubs had moved closer to an understanding following meetings between representatives over the weekend.

Several Barcelona players, Victor Valdes, Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique, anticipated the final agreement with messages posted on their twitter sites and that heightened expectation for an official announcement of the transfer which has now arrived two days later.