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Phil Costa·24 March 2020
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Phil Costa·24 March 2020
Cesc Fabregas has revealed how José Mourinho was the decisive factor in persuading him to join Chelsea in 2014.
Fabregas left Arsenal for Barcelona in 2011 after eight successful seasons, but struggled to establish himself back home with Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Busquets ahead of him in the pecking order.
But despite having a first refusal option, Arsenal opted against re-signing the midfielder which allowed Chelsea to steal in and create waves in the Premier League.
“I spoke to Mourinho, which I didn’t think it would ever happen because of what happened when I was at Arsenal and Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid,” he told Arseblog.
“But after I left the room with Mourinho I said to my agent “that’s it, I’m going to Chelsea”. There was no extra money involved.
“What he told me, the team he wanted to make, what he thought of me, how he wanted me to play absolutely every game.
“I knew this would have repercussions with Arsenal. It would have been the same with City or United but I wanted to go back to the Premier League.”
Fabregas made 197 appearances for Chelsea in five seasons, winning two Premier League titles and an FA Cup.