Ex-Chelsea, Barcelona, Arsenal star Fabregas set to join Serie B’s Como after leaving Monaco on free transfer

Cesc Fabregas is set to join Serie B side Calcio Como on a free transfer, according to Fabrizio Romano and Gianluca di Marzio.

The Spanish dual European Championship and 2010 World Cup winner left Monaco last month after a slightly underwhelming four-year stretch.

Fabregas joined Monaco from Chelsea after winning two Premier League titles in three years in January 2019, also on a free transfer. He made just 68 appearances in the ensuing seasons though, and failed to add to his considerable career trophy haul.

Earlier in the summer, Fabregas was linked with a move to Las Palmas. While the Segunda Division side’s president initially scoffed at the rumours, laughing off his club’s capacity to pay the Spain legend’s wages, he has changed his attitude in recent days.

He told Spanish radio station Onda Cero earlier in the week, that “‘the chances of Cesc joining us are 40 per cent. He has behaved like a gentleman in his talks with us. Convincing a World Cup winner to play in the second division is complicated. But from a sporting perspective we are clearly a good option for him.”

But on Thursday morning, he announced that the deal would not go ahead, “Cesc Fabregas will not play at Las Palmas. We have been negotiating for three weeks, but his priorities are others.”

It seems likely that Dennis Wise, a legend of Fabregas’ former club Chelsea, was key to this deal. Wise has been an executive at the Italian club since 2019 and moved into sole directorial responsibility in February last year.

Como’s stadium, the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, sits directly on Lake Como and was built there by decree of Benito Mussolini in 1927.

The first steps in Fabregas’ illustrious football career were taken at Barcelona’s La Masia where he moved through the youth ranks in the same age group as Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique.

After leaving for Arsenal, he made his debut in October 2003, in a League Cup tie at home to Rotherham. In the process he became Arsenal’s youngest ever player.

After becoming club captain and winning both Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup with Spain, Fabregas returned to Barcelona.

Fabregas was supposed to be the final piece of the puzzle for Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona but never quite hit the heights he was expected to. During the post-Pep transition, Fabregas was sold to Chelsea.

Upon returning to the Premier League, Fabregas starred as the Blues won the league title twice in three years. After that though, he played sparingly and moved on to Monaco.

Calcio Como were formed from the ashes of a previous club of the same name which was first founded in 1907 but twice refounded following bankruptcy. The latest iteration of the club began in 2017. They are owned by Indonesian cigar manufacturer Djarum.