Como's Cesc Fabregas will always be the one that got away for for Man United

Fabregas, Carrick and United have a strange history together, one that added some extra fizz to this already explosive match. In 2013, when United's legendary coach Sir Alex Ferguson handed the reins over to David Moyes, Fabregas was the player both men wanted to sign—and his role, as they understood it, would be to replace the declining Carrick in United's midfield. Fabregas opted not to join them. And now, more than a decade later, here they all are again: a desperate United, a flailing Carrick and a wary Fabregas watching carefully afar. For United, Fabregas will always be the one that got away.

A midfield maestro

Many of modern soccer's best coaches began their careers as galaxy-brained Spanish midfielders: Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso all came through that way, and 39-year-old Cesc Fabregas did too. A product of Barcelona's famous La Masia, Fabregas made the controversial decision to move to England (Arsenal, more specifically) as a teenager rather than finishing his development under Barcelona's guidance. The move made Fabregas famous, but it left him somewhat adrift from his Spanish peers. He was a key part of Spain's 2010 World Cup-winning team—he wore number ten—but few remember him with the same fondness that they remember Xavi, Andres Iniesta or Sergio Busquets. Fabregas's early move to England is the reason why: he was always viewed as a player caught between two nations.

The Premier League was crawling with exceptional midfielders when Fabregas arrived, from Steven Gerrard at Liverpool to Frank Lampard at Chelsea and yes, even to the perpetually underrated Michael Carrick at United. As Carrick's career came to a close and United planned for a new era, it was Fabregas—old enough to have learned from the Premier League greats but young enough to have several years left in his prime—who seemed like the future. Ferguson told Moyes to sign Fabregas in their first official transition meeting; Moyes agreed in principle, but only if he could sign his old stalwart Marouane Fellaini from Everton too.

It never wound up happening. Fabregas stayed away, Fellaini arrived solo (and struggled) and Moyes's United era was over and done with in one season flat. Could Fabregas's arrival have changed that? United will always wonder.

An uncertain future

Thirteen years later, it's Carrick and Fabregas again, this time staring each other down from opposite managerial posts. Carrick has struggled since taking over as United's full-time manager in May of 2026; his team is 13th in the Premier League after seven matches and looks well adrift of its one-time peers. Fabregas, meanwhile, has led Como to unbelievable heights since joining in 2019 to coach its youth teams. The combination of Fabregas's tactical acuity, a newfound suite of moneyed investors and genuinely convincing on-field play has made Como one of the most exciting teams in Europe. Beating United 4-1 in the Champions League stands as its biggest-ever result, but there's a real sense that it won't stand for long. Bigger things are coming.

For United, though, bigger things appear to be slipping away, just as they did when Fabregas turned down the club's advances in 2013. If his non-arrival was the club's big "what if" moment, it's easy to see why it might be eager to rectify that on the managerial front.

But from Fabregas's perspective, why would he engage? He was right to turn down United in 2013, and he appears right to be focused on other things today. For United, Fabregas is an opportunity missed...but for Fabregas, United is a bullet dodged.