Former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas
Former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas
A manager’s contract usually ties him to the club that hired him. Sometimes it also names the clubs he used to play for.
Release clauses for coaches are rare. A clause that skips negotiation entirely is rarer. The number still has to be paid.
Happiness at the current job is the other half of the story. A clause is not a resignation.
A Bola reports that Cesc Fabregas has a release clause in his Como contract that would let him join Arsenal, Barcelona or Chelsea for a fixed fee, without further negotiation. Gianluca Di Marzio, via Marca, says the conditions are “very affordable” if any of those three make a move.
Fabregas is happy at Como and there is no suggestion he is preparing to leave. He rejected several offers over the summer. None came from Arsenal, Chelsea or Barcelona. If none of the three activate the clause, he is under contract until 2028. Monaco, his other senior club, is not on the list.
Como finished fourth in Serie A last season and are in the Champions League. They have been linked with Arsenal’s interest in Jacobo Ramon, the 21-year-old centre-back who has said he is focused on the present in Italy. Fabregas’s own future is a separate file.
Arsenal are the awkward fit of the three. Mikel Arteta has agreed a new contract, with the club describing it as an improved deal to build on last season’s title. A cut-price clause does not create a vacancy. Chelsea’s managerial churn is the more obvious theoretical opening. Barcelona are the club Marca says are watching.
Fabregas made 212 appearances for Arsenal, won the FA Cup in 2005 and 2014, and left for Barcelona in 2011 before a later spell at Chelsea. He is 39 and in his first senior head-coach job. Como have given him a project that is working. The clause is insurance for the clubs on his CV, not a bid.
No fee has been published. No approach from Arsenal has been reported. Until one of the three calls, he stays in Serie A until 2028, with a door that only opens for the teams he already knows. Arteta’s new deal means that door is the least likely of the three to be used.