Fabregas: Wenger is like a father to me but Barca is my real family
Published 23:00 29/07/10 By Darren Lewis
Cesc Fabregas admits that he broke down on telling boss Arsene Wenger that Arsenal were no longer his sole focus.
The World Cup winning Spanish midfielder and Gunners captain has been unsettled by Barcelona’s tapping-up tactics despite Wenger’s refusal to sell at any price.
Fabregas, brought to north London as a 15-year-old from Barca’s youth academy, has been transformed by Wenger into one of the biggest young talents in world football.
But the midfielder conceded that the pull of his “friends” in Catalonia is proving hard to resist.
And he revealed there were emotional scenes as he broke the news to Wenger before the World Cup.
Fabregas, who flew back to London from his summer break yesterday. said:
“He does not want me to leave.
“My last conversation with him in London was one of the most difficult moments I have ever experienced. I was left very upset.
“He [Arsene Wenger] is a second father to me, the most important person in my life after my father. He has been very supportive of me and has treated my like a son. I am part of his family.”
Yes Fabregas revealed that the roots of his real family are embedded within the club calling him home.
He added: “I am from Barcelona. I am a club member, along with my grandfather, my uncle and my cousin.
I feel those colours and have since I was young. I am Catalan, I am from Arenys, I have come through the Barca youth system.
“Those players are my friends and have been for many years. They play stellar football and everything they have won they deserve 100%.
“[Carles] Puyol gives me confidence and has taken care of me like older brother. Bojan inspires calm. [Sergio] Busquets is simple and authentic.
“Xavi is a maestro. [Andres] Iniesta has so much patience, especially given what has happened to him in terms of injuries.
“[Lionel] Messi is calm, shy, and very kind. [Victor] Valdes has a lot of personality.
“However, I am Arsenal’s captain. I am a Gunner and that is where I have made myself as a player and matured as a person.”
The interview, in Spanish magazine DIR Emotions, is yet another nail in the coffin of Wenger’s bid to keep Fabregas.
Fans fear that, like Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira before him, Fabregas’s divided loyalties could see him a shadow of the player they are used to.
