London. Former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas has retired from competitive football at the age of 36. Fabregas retired from football almost 20 years after making his Arsenal debut at the age of 16. Fabregas, who was a member of Spain’s 2010 World Cup-winning team, announced his retirement on Twitter on Saturday. He had signed a two-year deal with Como in Italy’s second division last year but decided to retire before its completion. Fabregas said, “It is with great sadness that I have to say that the time has come to say goodbye to my football career as a player.”
Having joined Arsenal from Barcelona’s youth academy, Fabregas became the London club’s youngest ever player when he made his League Cup debut in October 2003 at the age of 16 years 177 days. He then went on to captain Arsenal but returned to Barcelona in 2011. Apart from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the Spain team under his leadership also won two consecutive European Championships in 2008 and 2012.
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Fabregas won the Spanish league title with Barcelona in 2012–13 but joined Chelsea in the Premier League a year later. He won the Premier League titles in 2015 and 2017 with Chelsea. He then moved to French club Monaco in 2019, playing 68 matches, before joining Como last year.
