Cesc Fabregas reveals he had discussed terms with Real Madrid over possible move to the Bernabeu

Cesc Fabregas was close to a Real Madrid move before sealing a transfer to Barcelona in 2011

Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has revealed that he came very close to joining Real Madrid when he left Arsenal in the summer of 2011, according to an interview on Marca. The Spanish international confirmed that the rumours of a move to Santiago Bernabeu were indeed true and not just mere speculation.

Fabregas was involved in a transfer saga that lasted more than two seasons as boyhood club Barcelona tried to bring the midfielder back to the Camp Nou. The Gunners did resist their advances over the summer prior to his final season in north London. Even Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol forcing Fabregas to wear a Barcelona jersey during their 2010 World Cup celebrations did not prevent Arsenal from retaining his services for another season.

But ultimately, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger did not want to stand in his way as Fabregas was torn between playing for Arsenal and Barcelona. The Catalan club finally got their man for an initial fee of £25.4m, but the move did not go through without speculation of a move to arch rivals Real Madrid. Even Fabregas’s father had mentioned that he could move to Madrid that summer.

When questioned, Fabregas said: “Well, there was contact with different presidents over the space of several years, but no deal was ever struck.”

He went on to explain that although they did discuss terms, it never went through. “We discussed terms, but nothing final was ever agreed. That decisive step was never taken.”

Fabregas explains why he moved to Chelsea to play under Mourinho

Fabregas would play for Barcelona for three seasons before he was offloaded to Chelsea in the summer of 2014. While the move came under harsh criticism from the Arsenal faithful, it was a move he was forced to make after Wenger decided not to exercise the option to bring him back to the Emirates having already signed Mesut Ozil the summer before.

From rivals in La Liga to working together in the Premier League

When asked about why he moved to Chelsea, Fabregas had said: Football, nothing else," according to Sky Sports. “Football moves very quickly, much quicker than people think. It goes from day to day. You talk to a manager or a player and the next day there's something different. You turn the page and you forget everything.”

The move raised eyebrows around the football world as all the Barcelona players despised Jose Mourinho when he was the manager of Real Madrid. The Portuguese manager had sown the seeds of hate between the clubs’ players in the Clasico and it had threatened to spill over into the Spanish national team as well.

"Mourinho was our rival, the same as Real Madrid, the same as Sergio Ramos, as Pepe, as Cristiano,” Fabregas explained.

“We wanted to win against Real Madrid, but not for personal reasons. You wanted Barcelona to win, not to defeat Mourinho.”