He told me that we had them on the pitch when he was at Chelsea and I at Arsenal, and then when he was training for Real Madrid and I was at Barcelona, but for him it all ended there.
He told me about his project. I prioritised the professional side, and today I continue to write with him and consider him a friend, he helped me a lot at the time and maybe with him I played one of my best seasons.
It is easy to see why Fabregas feels such a way – in his year and a half under Mourinho, who was sacked in December 2015, the Spaniard was highly influential and won the 2014-15 Premier League title.
He attempted more passes (3,832) than anyone else in the Premier League during this time, while his 3,238 completed passes was not matched by anyone.
On top of that, he also recorded a league-high 20 assists and 4,698 ball touches in this period, highlighting his importance.
Similarly, his 120 chances created was bettered by only three players.
But Fabregas time working with Guardiola did not inspire the same kind of friendship despite previously idolising the former midfielder.
With Guardiola, I have not spoken again, he said. There are things that happened that I do not have to talk about.
He was my idol in my childhood, perhaps he is the person from whom I have learned the most as a player, as an idol and later as a coach, but that s it.
