Former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has named a former Liverpool star as one of his great inspirations as a young footballer.
The Spaniard, who won the World Cup, European Championships and Premier League during a glistening career, came up against Liverpool on plenty of occasions.
In fact, Fabregas made 27 appearances against the Reds over the years – more than against any other club.
The sensational midfielder was a joy to watch in his prime and certainly impressed against Liverpool, with two goals and seven assists in clashes with the Reds.
Having played with the likes of Andres Iniesta and Xavi, the ex-Barcelona man was certainly blessed with some truly remarkable teammates.
However, he wished he had played with one Liverpool legend in particular, with Steven Gerrard serving as an inspiration to Fabregas as a young player.
During his coverage of Euro 2024 for BBC Sport, Fabregas revealed his admiration for former Liverpool skipper Gerrard, admitting he would have loved to play alongside him during his career.
“He was someone that I looked up to when I was young,” said Fabregas. “When I remember the first times that the Premier League was opening in Spain and we could watch games and he was very young.
“He was stepping into the Liverpool side. I had a Nokia. I remember one of the first phones that I had when I was young was this Nokia that you could change the face of and you could set up the screen.
“And I remember I had Gerrard No.17 and stuff like that when he was wearing 17 in the beginning, so yeah, I always said that he was one of the players that I would have loved to play with.”
Fabregas enjoyed some epic battles up against Gerrard and it’s a shame that we never got to witness the two maestros in action together for Liverpool.
