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Cesc Fabregas has announced his retirement from football and here is why he is more of a Chelsea legend despite his strong affiliations to Arsenal.
Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas has announced his retirement from football through his official social media pages.
The 36-year-old calls time on his illustrious career after nearly two decades of success with some of the biggest clubs in European football.
Fabregas’ career is characterised by two spells at rival clubs, Chelsea and Arsenal either side of a trophy-laden time at Barcelona.
And despite starting his career at Arsenal and establishing himself as a world-class player there, Fabregas arguably had a more successful time at Chelsea.
Here are five key moments that make Fabregas more of a Chelsea legend than an Arsenal one despite playing more games for the Gunners.
5 moments that made Cesc Fabregas a Chelsea legend
Magical assist on debut
Cesc Fabregas joined Chelsea in the summer of 2014 for €33 million from Barcelona and wasted no time introducing himself to his new fans.
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The Spanish midfielder set up a beautiful goal on his debut for Chelsea in a 3-1 win to start the 2014/15 Premier League season at Turf Moor.
Chelsea had conceded first but another debutant in Diego Costa equalised in the first half after which Andre Schurrle scored the second in the first half.
Schurrle’s goal gave Chelsea a 2-1 lead at halftime but the assist was all-important as Fabregas set up the German with a wonderful first-time pass through a sea of Burnley defenders in truly marvellous fashion.
Fabregas also assisted the third goal in a 3-1 win for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea but that assist for the second goal is all anyone remembers or cares about.
Important goal against QPR
Chelsea won the 2014/15 Premier League title in Fabregas’ first season at the club and the Spaniard was instrumental in securing the title.
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He only scored three goals in the Premier League that season but the third and final one was extremely important as it clinched a 1-0 win away at Queens Park Rangers.
Chelsea travelled to Loftus Road in April 2015 as their hosts battled against relegation and made it difficult for the title-chasing Blues.
Chelsea won by a goal to nil through a Cesc Fabregas goal which was also their only shot on target in the entire game.
That result put Chelsea in pole position for the title with seven games still to play and they went on to seal the title.
100th Premier League assist
On December 31, 2016, Chelsea beat Stoke City 4-2 in a Premier League game to equal the top-flight record of 13 consecutive wins.
Antonio Conte’s team took the lead twice and Stoke equalised on both occasions before Willian scored from a Fabregas assist to give Chelsea the lead for good just past the hour-mark.
That assist was a milestone one for Cesc, his 100th in the Premier League for both Arsenal and Chelsea combined.
It took Fabregas just 293 Premier League games to reach the century mark in assists, faster than anyone else in history and would be recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Later that season, Fabregas notched assist No.103 of his Premier League career, putting him one ahead of Frank Lampard for second on the all-time list.
The creative midfielder finished his Premier League career with 111 assists, the second-highest total in history which he achieved as a Chelsea player.
Second Premier League title
Cesc Fabregas only won two Premier League titles and both came as a Chelsea player in 2014/15 and 2016/17.
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Fabregas was just as influential in the second title as he was in 2014-15, proving crucial to Conte’s Chelsea winning the title as he was to Mourinho’s Chelsea doing so two years prior.
Cesc would score five goals and contribute 12 assists despite his role being different and reduced from the last Premier League trophy.
His ability to feature prominently in two very different systems and win the league under both Mourinho and Conte was impressive.
The Spaniard would add an FA Cup to his Chelsea CV a year later, completing the set of all domestic trophies in England with the Blues in just four years and five months at Stamford Bridge, another reason he is more of a Chelsea great than an Arsenal one.
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350th and final Premier League game
On January 2, 2019, Cesc Fabregas came off the bench for Chelsea to replace Ross Barkley in the 68th minute of a goalless draw at home to Southampton.
His 22 minutes of action that day at Stamford Bridge was the last time Fabregas ever appeared in the Premier League.
Fabregas would play just one more time for Chelsea, his 198th and final appearance for the club was 85 minutes as captain in a 2-0 FA Cup win against Nottingham Forest on January 5, 2019.
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His final appearance was an emotional one as he got applauded by the entire stadium upon substitution and was moved to tears by the love of the Chelsea fans.
Unlike his departure from Arsenal which was under acrimonious circumstances when he forced a move to Barcelona in the summer of 2011.
The way he left Arsenal makes him less of a legend there and Chelsea is the only club he left on cordial terms and he is still revered at Stamford Bridge where he has developed more of a relationship with the fans in just over four years than he did in eight years at Arsenal.
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