Fabregas: ‘He Was the Player I Felt the Strongest With, Alongside Messi’

Former Barcelona and Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas revealed another teammate who had the same mentality as Lionel Messi.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Fabregas played alongside the Argentine superstar Messi in the legendary La Masia academy system. Later, in 2011, when he returned from North London to Catalonia, he reunited with the South American star and won the La Liga title together with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner. Fabregas had previously played with another World Cup winner, French forward Thierry Henry, at Arsenal. Henry enjoyed his time at Barcelona with Messi from 2007 to 2010 and is thought to have had the same ability to instill confidence in those around him.

WHAT DID FABREGAS SAY?

Cesc Fabregas spoke on The Rest Is Football podcast about his colleagues who made winning feel easy: “Thierry and Lionel Messi were the two players I felt much stronger with on the pitch. Even when you played badly, you always knew Thierry Henry would be there to save the day.

In the last phase of my career, let’s say the last 8-10 years, I felt that no match was easy. Maybe with Messi, you had the confidence that he would do something special, but you could always feel this with Thierry as well. We were playing at home against Everton, and we were in the tunnel at Highbury before going out onto the pitch, and it’s hard to explain because I don’t want it to sound weird or arrogant, but I knew we would win. It was the strength that Thierry’s presence gave me. I only felt this with him and Leo.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Fabregas remains a close friend of Messi, who is currently playing for Inter Miami in MLS. After retiring from football at the age of 36, Fabregas transitioned to coaching and, in his first managerial experience, promoted Como to Serie A.