Chelsea FC midfielder Cesc Fabregas spoke at length to The Sun about choosing Chelsea, speaking with Arsene Wenger, and working with Jose Mourinho. Thankfully for those of us who do not want to support The Sun to get past the paywall, ESPN FC has obliged by telling us exactly what Fabregas told the tabloid.
More from Chelsea FC News
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 1 Blue Mauricio Pochettino should drop
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 3 Blues who must start
- Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Bournemouth: Palmer starts in 4-2-3-1
- Chelsea sporting directors finally reveal why they sign so many young players
- These 3 new signings may never get a game at Chelsea
Fabregas on changing clubs and hurt feelings at Arsenal:
"“Changing clubs is part of the game and people must remember it was Arsenal who didn’t take up the buy-back option for me. What am I going to do – retire? No way. I can understand some people at Arsenal are sad, some people are upset, some people are even angry. But I have to look after myself. I had to make a decision.I wanted to keep playing football, enjoying myself and my career and I felt that joining Chelsea was the best option for me. There would have been a reaction wherever I had gone. If I had moved to Manchester United they would say, ‘He’s gone to a club that have been our big rivals for such a long time.’ If it had been Manchester City they would have complained, too. Any team I would have gone to, apart from Arsenal, it would have been bad to them.”"
Fabregas on the badge controversy after his goal against Schalke 04:
"“I was actually patting my chest, but it doesn’t matter. This is the club I’m at and I will do everything for this team. That’s my job. I would never intentionally do anything to create any problem with Arsenal or any other club. They can say to me whatever they want now, they can dislike me, they can hate me – but nothing will change my feelings for the club.”"
On his connection to Arsenal and how things change:
"“I used to watch all the games even after I left. I still have friends there, I always supported them and I have a really good connection with Arsenal. But in football things change. I left Arsenal for a reason and I didn’t come back for a reason. I left because it was always my dream to play for my hometown team Barcelona. I hoped people would understand that.”"
Fabregas on leaving Barcelona and returning to the Premier League:
"“When I left Arsenal I went with the mentality that I would always stay at Barcelona and I would never leave, but things changed for me there and this summer I called them and told them I wanted to leave. After my mind was made up it was then all about finding the best option for me and I decided to come back to England.I was always going back to the Premier League because, to me, there’s no other league around the world that’s better than it. Arsenal had the first option – it was written in the contract – and so they could have said ‘yes’ but they decided not to. They told me now Ozil was there, there was no need for me. That’s life. No problem. We move on. Life moves on. Football moves on.”"
The fact that Cesc Fabregas is wearing a Chelsea shirt this season is a minor miracle in itself. The former Arsenal captain was always one of the least liked players at Stamford Bridge and was no fan of Jose Mourinho. Now he is one of Mourinho’s automatic selections and one of the Blues’ most important players. Life does indeed move on and sometimes it does in very strange ways.
Follow us on Twitter at @PrideOLondon
Like us on Facebook at The Pride of London