The situation Cesc Fabregas finds himself in at Arsenal is akin to a "kidnapping" and the English club should allow him to return to Barcelona, the mayor of his home town was quoted as saying on Friday.
Fabregas, 24, has made no secret of his wish to return one day to the club he left as a 16-year-old in 2003 but has stopped short of publicly demanding a transfer.
"We want him to come right away, he is experiencing a kidnapping," Estanislau Fors i Garcia, the mayor of Catalan town Arenys de Mar where Fabregas grew up, was quoted as saying in Barcelona-based daily Sport.
"If the English are so honourable they should behave properly," he added.
"He [Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger] has to stop clowning around because it's disorienting for all of us."