‘Had it not been for Arsene Wenger, I would not be a Barcelona player’ – Cesc Fabregas reveals Arsenal boss convinced board to sell him to boyhood club
The Catalans’ prodigal son reveals his return to Spain was made possible by the Frenchman's help, saying he would be "nothing without him", but admits he must still improve

Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has revealed he would not have been granted his dream return to the Catalan giants from Arsenal were it not for former boss Arsene Wenger.

Fabregas finally completed his protracted move back to Camp Nou last month, and has scored twice in his first three appearances as Pep Guardiola’s side won both the Spanish and European Super Cups and destroyed Villarreal 5-0 on the opening day of La Liga.

Arsenal’s hard negotiating stance this summer was widely criticised in the Catalan capital, where many are of the view that Wenger stole Fabregas from Barcelona as a 16-year-old.

But the 24-year-old himself maintains that, rather than criticising Wenger for depriving the European champions of the player he was as a teenager, the Frenchman should instead be credited for returning him as the world-class performer he is today and for instructing the English club's board to let him leave despite their wishes to keep him.

"That is the wrong picture of him, had it not been for him, I would not now be a Barca player," he told El Pais.

"Without him I would not have made my debut by 16, played in the final of the Champions League at 18 and been team captain by 20.

"Without him I would not be a Barca player now, he convinced the owners of Arsenal, who would not sell under any circumstances, to lower the price."

Fabregas believes he departed on good terms with the Arsenal fans and secure in the knowledge he was always committed to the cause.

"I have everything, I could not have done more, my performances were fine and I played as much as I could," he added.

"In terms of titles, I am bitter about that - missing out on winning the Premier League about three times, I would have liked to have taken that, but it could not happen.

"But London will always be my city. I did not make great friends, but friends from the changing room and Wenger, you can look no further.

“I would be nothing without him, no world champion, nothing.

"I talked with him a lot, his words to me will last a liftetime. I could hardly talk when I left, but I did speak with him. But what he has given me is priceless."

Even though he has earned a move to the best club side in the world, Fabregas still insists he is far from the finished article.

"I feel I still have much to learn, this team is highly mechanised and there are things I have to catch up on, particularly in defence," he continued.

"I have never seen a team that is so focused on the attack-defend transition - playing against Barcelona is very complicated but playing at the club is not so easy and that is the challenge.

"I honestly feel that at times I may hinder them, but they are good at fixing it and hiding it, I must adapt to them and learn."

With Barcelona still boasting much the same squad which mopped up almost everything before them at home and abroad last season, Fabregas knows he will have to bide his time for first-team opportunities.

"It is clear that only players like Xavi, Iniesta and Messi could complain about a lack of playing time, and if they did complain I would respect that, so I will play when I play," he said.