I nearly Joined Real Madrid When I Was At Arsenal – Fabregas

The midfielder revealed he came close to joining Madrid during his eight years at Arsenal but a “decisive step” was missing to complete the move. Although yesterday Ancelotti said the Reds actually never contacted him for the gig. No deal was ever closed.

“There were things, but there was no final agreement. The decisive step was missing”.

“I think Liverpool are a good team”.

“I love the football here, I still have a house in London, and I would like to be with a team that is competitive in England and in Europe”.

“Did Barca treat me well?”

He said at a press conference: “Look, my third season in Porto, I didn’t have a third season”, he said.

‘At the end of the day in football, you can play well, defend well, but it is about scoring goals, about scoring one more goal’.

“I noticed it and had to step aside”.

“When things don’t go right I can’t sleep at night”.

The Italian, who managed Chelsea from 2009 until 2011, is a free agent following his sacking by Real Madrid in the summer.

Jose Mourinho’s side stormed to the domestic title in the 2014/15 campaign after securing a total of 87 points which was enough to separate them from the closest title contenders Manchester City by 8 points. “Last season was excellent, despite the pain of the Champions League”. Nobody is going to give us a helping hand. “The results have not done justice to what we do on the pitch”, he said.

“Mourinho was our rival [when Fabregas was at Barca], the same as Real Madrid, the same as Sergio Ramos, as Pepe, as Cristiano…We wanted to win against Real Madrid, but not for personal reasons”. The coach trusts us and we trust him. We want to win for Chelsea, that is the first thing. “No one else will help us”.

Fabregas has himself come in for criticism over his displays this term but the Spain worldwide feels it is a collective response that is now required.