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Former Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas has named his four best teammates besides Argentine maestro Lionel Messi. The 37-year-old made the claims in a recent episode of The Rest is Football podcast, hosted by Gary Lineker.
Fabregas, the current manager of Serie A side Como, played for a host of top clubs in his career, including Arsenal, Chelsea, and Barcelona. He also shared the pitch with many iconic players for the Spain national team.
When Lineker asked the Spaniard to name the best goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, and forward he has played with, excluding Messi, he said (via SPORTbible):
"I am going to go for Iker Casillas for the moments that we shared (with the national team). I'm going to go for (Carles) Puyol because he was not the greatest football player but I miss players that love defending and they would go over the line to save a goal and they are proper warriors. In terms of defending, being a warrior, a proper captain, proper team player, I'll pick Carles Puyol." (1:12:43)
"I am going to go with (Andres) Iniesta. I love Xavi, I love David Silva, Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva, I had some great company in there but for me, Iniesta is the most complete. I'm going to go with Thierry Henry. He was so dominant. When he was on his day and even when he was not sometimes, he was unstoppable. Some defenders, and big defenders and great defenders, they didn't really know what to do with him," Fabregas concluded.
Fabregas made 74 appearances alongside Casillas (Spain), 102 appearances alongside Puyol (Spain and Barca), 187 appearances alongside Iniesta (Spain and Barca), and 100 appearances alongside Henry (Arsenal), respectively.
"He will make it look easy" - Cesc Fabregas praises former Barcelona and Spain teammate Andres Iniesta
Ex-Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas has lavished praise on his former Barcelona and La Roja teammate Andres Iniesta. On the same episode of The Rest is Football podcast, the former Arsenal man claimed that the 40-year-old could pass the ball however one wanted and wherever one wanted.
Fabregas said (via SPORTbible):
"Passing the ball however you want and wherever you want, he (Iniesta) will make it always good. He will make it look easy. He'll be surrounded by seven players and he'll not feel the pressure. He'll always find the right solution." (1:14:35)
"In the later stages of his career, he improved by scoring goals, he was attacking more the space. I always felt amazing with him. He was not the greatest in the final pass but he could see a final pass and individually in terms of dribbling and keeping the ball, I don't think I've seen a better player in midfield than him," Fabregas added.
Iniesta is widely considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time. He was named the 'UEFA Best Player in Europe' in the 2011-12 season.
At the club level, he has won four Champions League titles, nine La Liga titles, and six Copas del Rey, among many others. He was also part of Spain's golden generation, helping La Roja to back-to-back EURO titles (2008 and 2012) and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
