Football news - Cesc Fabregas: Jose Mourinho hugs part of his mind games

Fabregas was speaking to Rio Ferdinand about his time under some of the greatest managers of recent memory; Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger.

Fabregas broke into the Arsenal side as a youngster under Wenger, and then played for Guardiola at Barcelona before teaming up with Mourinho at Chelsea.

Mourinho and Fabregas won the title together at Chelsea in 2014-15, and the latter still remembers their first meeting before he joined in the summer of 2014.

Speaking on The Locker Room, Fabregas said: “Jose is the coach that tactically, he’s got one system, but he works on that system very well because he’s got the specific players for the right system.

“When I met him first, he told me, ‘I need two players, I’m going to sign Diego Costa, and if you want to, you come to me’. He drew me a team with paper and said this team is winning the title. On the first day. He said, ‘You come, we will win the title’.

“He’s probably the coach that played with my mind better. He’s a great coach for great players because he plays with the mind. He stimulates you. For example, one day he’ll text you how good you’re playing, or today you were rubbish. He plays with you.

“One day he said he wouldn’t play me in the Carling Cup, but play in this [other] game and I’ll give you four days off. Give and take. He works with the mind of the players like nobody. He can tell you that you were the worst, you prove him wrong the next day and then he’ll say you’re the best in front of the team.

“Wenger is the best coach for young players. I cannot see anyone better than him because he gives opportunities. He teaches you, teaches the young players how to play the game, and has a certain ability of how to spend time with players and teach them the way he wants his team to play.

“A lot of people talk about young players who don’t do well, especially now in football you don’t have patience. The press, the fans are on you, but he’s got that patience. You play one bad game, he will give you another opportunity, and another. Obviously you need to grab that [opportunity] but he never shakes under pressure in this case. That’s not easy. I love the way he understands football. It was probably the time when I felt more free, he taught me and we had that trust with each other.”

“Pep is probably the most tactical out of the three. He loves the structure, even though he’s not telling you all the time ‘be here’, but he trusts that the way he teaches you to play will find the right spaces. Obviously he’s had great teams, it’s easy to explain to Iniesta over someone else, but he always felt when you play the ball quick and at the right time, you will always find the guy that is free and make the difference.

“His main point is move the ball fast and have the right moment at the right time to find the right space. This is how he works. What I like about him, and I think he does it now even more at Man City, he could change tactics three times in one game. Before maybe he was not doing it as much, but this is sensational, he spends so many hours at the training ground.”