I'll defend Mourinho tooth and nail - Fabregas
Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas says he will defend manager Jose Mourinho "tooth and nail" and will always be grateful to the Portuguese coach.
Mourinho has come under fire after the Blues' shocking start to the Premier League season, which has seen them lose seven of their 12 games.
Fabregas, meanwhile, has been accused of leading a player revolt against his manager, but says nothing could be further from the truth.
Speaking to Goal at Spain's training base in Madrid, he said: "That came from a website without too many readers, but it started growing on social media and some important newspapers ended up reporting what was a very small thing that may even have been invented by a guy on his sofa at home.
"I am the first to defend our manager tooth and nail from the first minute when some began to doubt and I will continue to do so. The manager has helped me a lot in the year and a half I have been at Chelsea and I will always be grateful to him.
"The only thing I want is for the team to be strong, to keep winning and to get better, because right now we are not going through a great moment." Mourinho has long admired Fabregas's former team-mate Xavi, but was never able to sign the former Barca great and believed buying Cesc was the next best thing.
"He has always made me feel extremely important in the group and last year we achieved great success," Fabregas said. "This year things aren't going so well but this has just started and I am sure we will improve.
"And yes, Mourinho has said to me on occasions that Xavi is a fantastic footballer."
Nevertheless, the move surprised many due to the animosity between Barca and Mourinho during the latter's time in Spain and most memorably Fabregas's debut for the Catalan club, in a Spanish Supercopa clash at Camp Nou when the Portuguese poked then assistant Tito Vilanova in the eye.
"That episode is out there and from then on we were rivals for three years," Cesc recalled. "We always wanted Madrid to lose and I imagine that they always wanted us to lose as well.
"We weren't friends back then, not at all. But later we were able to get to know each other in a different situation and we understood each other very well. We get on very well now. He wanted me to come to Chelsea and that's something I valued greatly. He convinced me." Looking ahead to 2016, Fabregas would love to add a Champions League trophy to his collection and hopes Chelsea can make it into the top four and return to the continental competition next season.
"If I could make some wishes for 2016, I would ask for a Champions League, for my partner to be pregnant again and for Chelsea to move up the table and qualify for the next Champions League," he said.
"In the Premier League we are not doing too well and we have to get back on track to achieve that objective, which is very important for the club."
And the midfielder believes his current club can draw inspiration from Barca's slow start under Luis Enrique in 2014-15.
"We will have to see but the best example is Barcelona last season," he said. "They didn't look good until January, but from then they reached a spectacular level and they finished the season in the ascendant.
"A lot can happen yet, even if we are a little off the pace at the moment. We have to start winning and moving up the table now."
Mourinho has come under fire after the Blues' shocking start to the Premier League season, which has seen them lose seven of their 12 games.
Fabregas, meanwhile, has been accused of leading a player revolt against his manager, but says nothing could be further from the truth.
Speaking to Goal at Spain's training base in Madrid, he said: "That came from a website without too many readers, but it started growing on social media and some important newspapers ended up reporting what was a very small thing that may even have been invented by a guy on his sofa at home.
"I am the first to defend our manager tooth and nail from the first minute when some began to doubt and I will continue to do so. The manager has helped me a lot in the year and a half I have been at Chelsea and I will always be grateful to him.
"The only thing I want is for the team to be strong, to keep winning and to get better, because right now we are not going through a great moment." Mourinho has long admired Fabregas's former team-mate Xavi, but was never able to sign the former Barca great and believed buying Cesc was the next best thing.
"He has always made me feel extremely important in the group and last year we achieved great success," Fabregas said. "This year things aren't going so well but this has just started and I am sure we will improve.
"And yes, Mourinho has said to me on occasions that Xavi is a fantastic footballer."
Nevertheless, the move surprised many due to the animosity between Barca and Mourinho during the latter's time in Spain and most memorably Fabregas's debut for the Catalan club, in a Spanish Supercopa clash at Camp Nou when the Portuguese poked then assistant Tito Vilanova in the eye.
"That episode is out there and from then on we were rivals for three years," Cesc recalled. "We always wanted Madrid to lose and I imagine that they always wanted us to lose as well.
"We weren't friends back then, not at all. But later we were able to get to know each other in a different situation and we understood each other very well. We get on very well now. He wanted me to come to Chelsea and that's something I valued greatly. He convinced me." Looking ahead to 2016, Fabregas would love to add a Champions League trophy to his collection and hopes Chelsea can make it into the top four and return to the continental competition next season.
"If I could make some wishes for 2016, I would ask for a Champions League, for my partner to be pregnant again and for Chelsea to move up the table and qualify for the next Champions League," he said.
"In the Premier League we are not doing too well and we have to get back on track to achieve that objective, which is very important for the club."
And the midfielder believes his current club can draw inspiration from Barca's slow start under Luis Enrique in 2014-15.
"We will have to see but the best example is Barcelona last season," he said. "They didn't look good until January, but from then they reached a spectacular level and they finished the season in the ascendant.
"A lot can happen yet, even if we are a little off the pace at the moment. We have to start winning and moving up the table now."
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