Cesc Fabregas has named Arsenal legend Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi as the two ‘complete winners’ he played with. He hailed both players’ mentality and revealed that the Frenchman was an idol to him at the North London club.
In a recent interaction with CBS Sports, Fabregas spoke about playing alongside Henry at Arsenal. He disclosed that he respected the Gunners icon but was also scared of him due to his influence in the dressing room.
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“Thierry was a special, special character. I never told him this… I respected him so much that I was scared of him. I was so scared because he was an idol, he was the leader, and inside, this guy was so serious and was a winner,” Fabregas said.
The former midfielder, who is now the manager of Serie A outfit Como, went on to laud Henry’s winning mentality and compared him to Lionel Messi, saying:
“Two guys that in my career I thought were complete winners – one is Leo Messi. I’d never seen someone with that winning mentality. The other one I would say is Thierry.”
“Inside the dressing room, I remember him dancing, I remember him making some jokes. He would always bring these games, maybe he can tell you more, where you have the dice, and you have to kind of lie or something like that,” Fabregas continued.
“I used to play with the big boys. I was there, I was always so scared, but he was always with me. I have to say only thank you, even today, for how he has treated me. How good he made me feel. Now he will know that I was a bit scared of him. But not anymore,” he added.
Fabregas joined Arsenal from Barcelona in 2003, aged 16. It didn’t take long before he was sharing the first team dressing room with the senior players, including Henry. The duo shared the pitch 100 times for the Gunners, recording nine joint-goal participations, with the Spaniard assisting the Frenchman seven times.
After eight seasons with the North Londoners, Fabregas returned to his boyhood club, Barcelona, where he played with Lionel Messi. In 123 matches played together, they combined for 26 goals and won multiple titles for the Catalan club.
Former Arsenal star makes Lionel Messi claim in GOAT debate
Former Arsenal star Nicolas Pepe has named Lionel Messi as the GOAT (Greatest of all Time) ahead of his eternal rival, Cristiano Ronaldo. He believes that the Argentine icon is a more gifted player than the Portuguese superstar and said:
“But in the Messi and Ronaldo debates, I say Messi, you see, but when you talk stats and what he offers, there are many who will say Ronaldo,” he said. “Of course! But if you’re fair, really watch football—the experts say forget stats. That one shoots hard. Just football, Messi is insane.”
Pepe compared Neymar to Ronaldo, but insisted that no one matches Messi’s level, saying:
“I go further: prime Neymar looks Cristiano in the eyes. Forget stats. But look Messi in the eyes too? No, he doesn’t. Sorry, Messi slaps him twice. No human on Earth looks Messi in the eyes. None. Not by fantasy. That fantasy dribble, Messi doesn’t do it. But Messi hooks 7 or 8 players. Neymar does too, but Messi does it better. Ronaldo too. We’ve never seen that. Will we see it again? I think yes. Who? Ronaldo, we’ll see again. They’re machines. Maybe not now, in 20 years. Messi, we won’t see again. They try with Yamal, but Yamal isn’t it. Not Messi. Messi is scary. He won’t go.”
Lionel Messi recently guided Inter Miami to the MLS Cup, winning his 48th career trophy. Ronaldo, meanwhile, is yet to win a major title with Al-Nassr.
Edited by Okenna Okere