Jose Mourinho: sealing Cesc Fabregas’s Chelsea move took 10 minutes

Posted Sunday, October 05, 2014 by theguardian.com

· Manager missed son’s match to seal Cesc Fàbregas deal
· ‘Top professional’ will not be fazed by facing Arsenal
· Flamini plans to put brake on Fàbregas at reunion

Jose Mourinho: sealing Cesc Fabregas’s Chelsea move took 10 minutes
Cesc Fàbregas has thrived through being given a clear role at Chelsea, said José Mourinho.

José Mourinho has described the deal that took Cesc Fàbregas from Barcelona to Chelsea in the summer as one of the easiest of his career, having been agreed in principle after only 10 minutes of a meeting between the pair.

The Chelsea manager said he had cancelled a trip to Germany at the end of May to watch his son, José Jr, playing in a youth-team tournament for Fulham so that he could talk face to face with Fàbregas in London.

Arsenal had the option to re-sign Fàbregas, having sold him to Barcelona for £30m in 2011 but the manager, Arsène Wenger, decided against it, as he was sufficiently happy with the numbers and quality he had in midfield.

It opened the way for Mourinho to move decisively and Fàbregas’s £30m transfer to Chelsea was announced on 12 June. Fàbregas will face Arsenal for the first time on Sunday afternoon when he lines up for Chelsea against them in the Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge.

"He obviously knew that I was the Chelsea manager so if he doesn’t want to come to Chelsea, I think he refuses to meet with me and when I invite him for the meeting, he told me immediately ‘Yes,’ so that’s one point,” Mourinho said. “I spoke with him and, after 10 minutes, he was telling me he wants to join us.

"Yes, it was one of my easiest signings. He was really happy to join us and after that, my club was so fast and so strong in doing things, which I was not expecting, really. Normally, these things take more time. My club was fantastic.”

Mourinho’s son was the goalkeeper for the Fulham team that won the Jeno Konrad Under-14 Trophy at Nuremburg’s training facility on 25 May. They beat Bayern Munich at the group phase and again in the semi-final before winning 1-0 against Paris Saint-Germain in the final.

"I wanted to go, that’s normal,” Mourinho said. “I never go. That weekend, I wanted to go. But it was the only day that Cesc could travel to London so I had to stay. I had to do my job. No problem. I will watch my son play other times.

"Cesc and I spoke about football, the Chelsea project, where I want him to play, the way I want him to transform my team, the Chelsea philosophy. We spoke in general terms about what we would be able to pay to Barcelona and what we would be able to pay to him – not to be decided there because that is not part of my job but just to give him an idea. And, after that, he was telling me: ‘Yes. I want to go. No doubt.’

"I was objective with him: ‘This is the way we want to play. This is the way we want to develop the team. No way with me are you going to play fake No9, outside left, outside right. No. What I need you to do is this, this and this.’ Everything was so clear.”

Fàbregas was an Arsenal player for eight seasons, having joined them from the Barcelona academy, and the competitive fires have always burned within him. He faced Barcelona in four Champions League matches for Arsenal – including the final in 2006, which Barcelona won – and he famously scored a penalty against them in the quarter-final, first leg in 2010, despite having fractured a bone in his lower leg.

Fàbregas has demonstrated his steely side on other occasions, notably when he forced his transfer from Arsenal to Barcelona. Not many players are happy to appear on the other side of a London derby divide, while Mourinho remembers how Fàbregas told him last season to mind his own business after the Portuguese had been critical of Barcelona. Fàbregas might feel a “little bit emotional” against Arsenal, according to Mourinho, but it will only be a little bit.

"I can feel that it will be another game for Cesc, with that little bit [of emotion] before the match or in the first couple of minutes but he played against Barcelona with Arsenal so no problem,” Mourinho said. “He is a top professional, so another professional job for him on Sunday.

"It’s normal that Chelsea fans disliked him when he was at Arsenal. If Arsenal are in love with me, I have a problem. It means I’m not doing my job well at Chelsea and with the players, it’s exactly the same thing.”

Mourinho offered a flicker of his remorselessness when he was asked about Chelsea’s 6-0 win over Arsenal in the corresponding fixture last season. Sir Alex Ferguson has suggested that he almost felt sorry for Arsène Wenger when Manchester United beat Arsenal 8-2 at Old Trafford in 2011 but Mourinho does not feel the same way.

"Sorry for what?”Mourinho said. “That’s football. I just play matches the way they have to be played. If you can win 5-0, you don’t win 4-0.”