Former Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas is set for a reunion with Manchester United after at least one heated moment in the past
Cesc Fabregas at a Como press conference
Cesc Fabregas will face old rivals Manchester United as a manager this week(Image: Yannick Verhoeven/Newhouse Media/MB Media/Getty Images)
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When Manchester United take on Como in the Champions League on Wednesday night, they will find themselves up against a familiar foe. Cesc Fabregas is now in charge of the Italian side but there was a time when he was regularly lining up against the Red Devils as an Arsenal player.
The Spain international was involved in plenty of heated encounters when Arsene Wenger was Arsenal boss and Sir Alex Ferguson was in the United dugout. Few were more heated than the so-called 'Pizzagate' clash, so much so that it took Fabregas more than a decade to share the story of one of the Premier League's greatest mysteries.
The event in question took place in October 2004, in the aftermath of United's victory over Arsenal at Old Trafford. The hosts had denied their opponents a chance to go 50 league games unbeaten after a contentious penalty call left tempers high and Ferguson was hit by pizza as things boiled over post-match.
For more than 10 years, debate raged over who was responsible for throwing the food which hit Ferguson. Finally, in 2018, Fabregas admitted he was the one responsible.
There had been plenty of speculation, with Fabregas named as a potential culprit by Ferguson himself. Former Arsenal centre-back Martin Keown fanned the flames, suggesting "A Spanish fella with great technique" was responsible but not naming any names.
Fabregas was still a teenager at the time of the incident and perhaps didn't feel comfortable putting his head above the parapet. However, during a 2018 appearance on Sky show A League of Their Own, he finally fessed up.
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"Martin Keown is a liar because I saw him in front of me just, like, punching people so he didn't see anything," the World Cup winner said. "All of a sudden, I heard noises, and I thought, 'What's happening?' So I go out with my slice of pizza and I saw Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, Martin Keown... everyone pushing each other.
"I was like, 'I want to get in, but I don't know how to', and I threw, just threw it. Once I saw it was hitting, like, who it was hitting, which I didn't mean…"
Later, when speaking to beIN Sports, he confirmed he had already apologised to Ferguson in person before indicating he wouldn't behave in the same way now he is older. "I was young, I definitely wouldn’t use a pizza now, I would get straight in there now!" he said.
Cesc Fabregas during the 2004 Community Shield
Cesc Fabregas played against Manchester United in the 2004 Community Shield but was an unused substitute in the league two months later(Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)
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In 2022, Fabregas shed a little more light on Pizzagate in an interview with ITV. At the time, he was winding down his own playing career with Monaco and would embark on one final season with Como in 2022/23 before moving into coaching.
"We were 49 games unbeaten. They were so competitive but they were very smart people. I was getting a lot of stick as well," he said when reflecting on the Old Trafford defeat.
"I was very frustrated. You’re warming up and didn’t play. You’re annoyed you lost. I just went in quickly to the dressing room and there was some food there, I was starving.
"I took a slice of pizza and we started hearing noises. The first thing that occurred to me was to throw the pizza because I didn’t have the power or the courage maybe to go into that fight."
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