EXCLUSIVE: ‘Premier League Still the Best in the World’ Claims Fabregas
Former Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has stood firm in his belief that the Premier League is the best league in the world despite the fact that there are no English representatives in the final four of the Champions League and Europa League.
Arsenal, Manchester City, West Ham, and Liverpool all crashed out of their respective competitions at the quarter-final stage less than two weeks ago. This outcome means that it is almost impossible for England to finish in the top two of UEFA’s coefficient rankings for the 2023/24 season, preventing the Premier League from receiving an extra slot in next season’s Champions League.
Despite these disappointments, Fabregas maintains faith in the Premier League’s quality.
“I just think that by not having English teams in Europe, it’s just a coincidence really,” the Spaniard claimed.
“It’s still the best league in the world. The most competitive one, with the best players, the best coaches and the best teams.
“It is a possibility that players are a bit more tired when they get to the end of the season, playing in the Premier League, so, it just can happen, but nothing changes in my opinion.”
The ex-Gunner was speaking at Enterprise’s ‘Rent-A-Player’ initiative in West London ahead of this weeks all important Europa League semi-finals. One of the teams who will have high hopes for going all the way is Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen.
Having taken over at the BayArena in 2022, the former Real Madrid and Liverpool maestro has guided Die Werkself from relegation candidates to the club’s first Bundesliga title within 18 months. With DFB-Pokal and European success still to be had, there is every possibility that the German side could finish the campaign with an undefeated treble.
Despite Leverkusen’s clear change in fortunes under Alonso, Fabregas, who himself is the assistant coach at Serie B side Como, admits he was not initially certain of his former teammates managerial pedigree.
“I think Leverkusen, when you watch them play, they are in a moment where everything they touch converts to gold. They can keep winning, even when they are with 10 men. They have a good mentality.
“It’s always difficult to say [if he knew Alonso would be a good coach]. They asked me the same questions sometimes with Lionel Messi. Could you see at 12-years-old, that Leo Messi was going to be the best player in history? No.
“You see that they have certain characteristics. You see that his father was a coach, he had some of the best coaches in history coaching him. He played for fantastic clubs, he was a great player himself. Very intelligent. Very humble. Hard working. So, he has all the ingredients to make it happen.”
The recently crowned German Champions will have their work cut out for them in the next round, as they will be facing a resurgent Roma. The Italian giants have lost just three times since club legend Daniele De Rossi replaced Jose Mourinho in January.
I Giallorossi have overcome both Brighton and AC Milan in earlier stages of the tournament. With two teams in imperious form coming head to head, Fabregas is excited about what could transpire.
“It’s very, very tight. It’s a 50-50. Obviously Bayer Leverkusen, they are having a fantastic season. They’ve already won the league, so I think it will be a fantastic tie, because Roma as well, they are growing under the new coach, Daniele De Rossi. It will be interesting, I will be in front of the TV watching it.”
