Bored by the idleness of lockdown, Spanish international Cesc Fabregas went live on Instagram, interacting with his fans and football lovers. The fun session, however, led to the 32-year-old naming the best coaches he worked with during his career across top European leagues.
While the Monaco midfielder chose Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho as his personal favourites, Pep Guardiola and Vicente del Bosque missed out along with Toto Vilanova, Thierry Henry and others.
The World Cup winner started his illustrious career as a prodigy under Wenger in Arsenal, before moving on to join Barcelona, Chelsea and Monaco in France, where he is currently under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fabregas remembered Wenger's fatherly affection towards him and said he will always be courteous for that. He spent eight long seasons at the Emirates before making a move to Barcelona for an initial fee of €29 million and a further €5 million in variables.
During those days, Catalans were a formidable side under current Manchester City manager Guardiola. Cesc lifted six trophies under Guardiola but failed to become the footballing genius he was in England. The duo never had the best chemistry between them, which justifies Pep failing to win his special mentioning. Vilanova and Martino coached Barca after Pep left for fresh adventures with Bayern Munich, but Fabregas' luck largely remained unchanged, scoring 28 times from 96 outings.
It was in 2014 that Cesc decided to return to Premier League to join the archrivals of his former club. West London, once again, was destined to be the place where Fabregas meets another of his favourites.
He said the only other gaffer who showed a Wenger-like warmth towards him was the 'Special One.'
Ruminating his relationship with Mourinho, Fabregas said, “When I played for Arsenal, he was with Chelsea. When I was at Barcelona, he was with Real Madrid. We were confronting each other but then we humbled ourselves and started a good relationship.”
“The way he treated me, the way he made me feel, how he let me be a leader of the Chelsea team from day one and believed in me, this was fantastic and will always stay with me," Goal.com quoted him as saying.
However, Fabregas not naming former Spain national coach Vicente del Bosque has raised a few eyebrows. The La Roja lifted two Euro titles (2008, 2012) and the World Cup (2010) during Vincente's tenure and Cesc was part of the squad all the three times.
Unsurprisingly, none of his managers at Monaco, including his former Arsenal teammate Thierry Henry, have made the cut either. The former champions are struggling to perform consistently despite the presence of the Spanish superstar.