Cesc: «Barcelona are in better form than Madrid»

Cesc Fábregas gave an interview to ‘Marca‘ in which he touched on many current issues, among them the upcoming Clásico and his relationship with Mourinho.

The Clásico. «These games are incredible. We were always really up for them, for us they were the best matches we could ever play in. It was amazing. I loved playing at the Bernabéu. I’ve never lost there. I liked it and enjoyed it. The atmosphere is electric.» He was asked about the fact that this time Iker Casillas and Xavi Hernández will not be playing: «It’s weird, isn’t it? They have been the most important figures, alongside Puyol.» As for a prediction, he said: «We’ll have to see if Leo [Messi] plays or not and how Real Madrid approach the game, because Barcelona will play a 4-3-3 and look to keep the ball. They only have one style, attack and possession. There are more question marks about how Real Madrid will play, though. Favourites? I think Barça are in better form.»

Rafa Benítez. «Look what happened with Luis Enrique, and now he’s an idol. I don’t get what people are talking about. Maybe they’re not playing as well as people expect them to, but they’re winning. When you see that you’re not playing well but still win, that makes you stronger mentally.»

Signing for Madrid. «Well, there were contacts with different presidents over a period of several years, but no deal was ever struck. There were talks, but there was never any final agreement. That last step was never taken.»

His time at Barça. «Of course I miss Barcelona. I’ve spent a large part of my life there, and I even came back and played there for three years. But London is a city that has treated me well. It depends how you look at it, but Barcelona also treated me well. In the end, though, I realised that most of the fans didn’t like me any more. So I knew it was time to step to one side and for the club to go along its own path and me to go along another.»

Chelsea. «One really good year, with titles and another with doubts and difficulties. Last season was excellent, with the only disappointment being the Champions League. We went through the competition without losing a single game but still got knocked out… We won the Premier League title and the Capital One Cup, those were firsts for me. All in all it was a spectacular year.» However, «this season is turning out to be a bit screwed up. Things are not going well for us, and the results aren’t doing justice to our performances.»

José Mourinho. «Things are fine with Mou, fine. Obviously, when you’re not winning things always get said, whereas when you are winning everything’s great. And when you’re not winning, everything becomes more diffcult but we have to pull together, all of us, the players, the fans and the boss. Only we can get ourselves out of this situation, nobody is going to help us.»