Cesc Fabregas was a fantastic player to watch during his trophy-filled career, where he stole the show in both La Liga and the Premier League. Despite being a calm midfield conductor, the Spanish player’s passionate side led to confrontations with two English icons.
The 38-year-old is now among the most exciting young coaches in world football, after retiring as one of the greatest midfielders in Premier League history. He is highly valued in the sport, but his more aggressive side led to an 11-year feud with another top-tier star.
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Fabregas has also admitted that he ‘disliked’ another top player for the Three Lions for years, before they eventually became teammates. It’s fair to say that the world champion knew how to hold a grudge.
Cesc Fabregas didn’t like John Terry before they played together.
Fabregas was at war with John Terry’s Chelsea many times on the pitch when he was an Arsenal player himself. The pair clashed several times before eventually becoming teammates at Stamford Bridge years later.
In an interview with Sky Sports in 2017, when Terry left Chelsea after winning the Premier League on the same team as Fabregas, the world-class midfielder admitted that he had an intense dislike for him:
“He’s the type of player that I had a lot of games with. I disliked him very much at one point when I was playing for Arsenal, we had a lot of confrontations, but one thing I always had for him was respect.”
Despite being London rivals for such a long time, and Fabregas’ admitted dissatisfaction with the Blues’ captain, the Spaniard claimed that he always had respect for the English stalwart.
Speaking about Terry’s departure from Chelsea, he added: “He showed that he was first and foremost a good man, and then a good player. He showed that he will always be a good captain for this team, and I have to say a big, big, big thank you to him.”
Fabregas’ 11-year feud with Frank Lampard.
A heated confrontation between Chelsea and Arsenal in the 2007 League Cup final sparked hostility between Fabregas and Frank Lampard that lasted for over a decade. The couple eventually settled after Lampard’s retirement, strangely enough at a Russian gym.
In an interview with The Telegraph in 2020, Fabregas confirmed that the clash in the cup final, in which the two men were dragged apart by teammates, was the reason behind the hostilities. He claimed:
“It’s absolutely true [that we fell out], we don’t have to hide anything. I think he will tell you the same thing.
We’ve had many, many games over the years and we kind of didn’t like each other on the football pitch, because he wanted to play and win for Chelsea and I wanted to win for Arsenal.”
“The League Cup final was kind of crazy. We lost 2-1 and it was simply the last minute of the game and you feel a little frustrated. [John Obi] Mikel and Kolo Toure went into a tackle and both were sent off. Me and Frank had a moment there,” he elaborated.
The bad atmosphere between the two midfielders was cited as the reason why Lampard was allowed to leave Chelsea in 2014. Fabregas was on the west London club’s radar and eventually signed from Barcelona that summer.
Lampard had been released from his contract at the end of last season, and the English legend was convinced that it was due to the Spanish champion’s arrival. According to The Sun, the now 47-year-old claimed:
“We never played together! They let me go to get Cesc.
Me and Cesc never got along very well on the pitch, so they didn’t think we could share a locker room.”
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