Cesc Fabregas explains why he used to avoid Thierry Henry - 'I'd check he wasn't around'

Cesc Fabregas spoke of his immense respect for former Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry as he recalled 'avoiding' the legendary striker during their brief spell together at Monaco

Cesc Fabregas has jokingly owned up to avoiding Thierry Henry when they were reunited at Monaco.

The pair were Arsenal teammates in the mid-2000s, with Fabregas arriving from Barcelona as a 16-year-old during the ‘Invincibles’ season of 2003/04. They went on to win an FA Cup and reach the Champions League final together before Henry left for Barca in 2007.

Fabregas, who later returned to Barca himself, has huge admiration for Henry and felt “unbeatable” with the Frenchman in the side at Arsenal, comparing his impact to that of Lionel Messi at the Nou Camp. Henry signed Fabregas in January 2019 during his brief stint as Monaco head coach, with the pair staying in the same hotel.

When Gary Lineker, who interviewed the former Spain star for his The Rest is Football podcast, brought up Henry’s passion for talking football, Fabregas amusingly recalled avoiding his boss in the hotel lobby.

“He signed me for Monaco. Only for three weeks we were together [before Henry was sacked],” he said. “I remember we were sharing the same hotel because he had just arrived, two or three months before, while I was looking for a house.

“He was always in the hallway having a coffee or tea. I would go to see a friend, see my family, to go out to dinner. Every time, he would catch me and say, ‘You have two minutes?’ and it ended up being like three hours!

“So when I was leaving the hotel sometimes, I was looking from the elevator to see if he was around [to avoid him], otherwise I was not going to get to where I wanted to go.”

The pair are now linked again, with Fabregas currently head coach of Serie A side Como, where Henry is an investor. He remains incredibly fond of their times as teammate.

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“Thierry, together with Lionel Messi, are the two players I felt much stronger when I was on the football pitch,” he said. “It might not be your day, you might not be playing well, but you always have Thierry Henry there to save the day. There were games in the later part of my career, the last eight to 10 years, where I didn’t feel any game was easy.

“With Thierry, we were playing Everton at home. We were in the tunnel at Highbury, stepping onto the pitch. It’s difficult to explain – because I don’t want to sound weird or arrogant – but I just knew were going to win.

“That was the power of Thierry and I only felt it with him and Leo. He helped me so much in my career, going back to when I was a young player.”

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