Cesc Fabregas: Former Arsenal, Barcelona and Spain player retires at 36

The 2010 World Cup winner made the announcement via Twitter on Saturday having ended the two-year contract he signed with Italian Serie B side Como last summer 12 months early.

The Spanish player made his debut as a 16-year-old in 2003 for Arsenal, and will be hanging his boots after two decades, with more than 700 appearances.

“It is with great sadness that the time has come for me to hang up my playing boots,” Fabregas said on Saturday.

“From my first days at Barca, Arsenal, Barca again, Chelsea, Monaco and Como, I will treasure them all.

“From lifting the World Cup, the Euros, to winning everything in England and Spain and nearly all the European trophies, it has been a journey that I’ll never forget.”

The Spaniard became the youngest ever Arsenal player to make debut at 16 years and 177 days when he appeared against Rotherham in an EFL Cup third-round meeting at Highbury in October 2003, and became their youngest goalscorer when he netted against Wolves in the following round.

After a protracted transfer saga he left to return to his boyhood club Barcelona in 2011, a year after helping Spain to victory in the 2010 World Cup where he played all of extra time in the 1-0 final victory against the Netherlands in Johannesburg.

He was also a part of the side that won back-to-back European Championships in 2008 and 2012.

At Barca he won the 2012-13 La Liga title but left the Nou Camp to return to the Premier League with Chelsea a year later, helping the Blues to the league crown in 2015 and 2017.

He moved to Ligue 1 side Monaco in 2019 where he played 68 times before signing for Como last summer. Fabregas played 16 times for te Italian Serie B side last season.

Cesc Fabregas Career at a glance

Cesc has played 110 times for Spain, scoring 15 goals for his country.