Cesc Fabregas wasn’t in his native Spain when heard what Sergio Ramos said about him, but he addressed the situation close to home anyway.
Fabregas, 27, missed Spain’s two November games but played for Chelsea immediately before and after the international break. Ramos then questioned Fabregas’ commitment to the national team with thinly veiled comments that angered the Chelsea midfielder. Fabregas fired back Wednesday, telling Spanish radio station Cadena Cope that Ramos should have called him out to his face.
“Yes, I felt like he was alluding to me,” Fabregas said, according to Sky Sports. “I hate that someone doubts my commitment. I have played many games (for Spain) and have joined the national team many times without playing.
“I’ve played a total of 94 games for Spain, I’ve been going for nine years, always. And with a big smile.”
Fabregas added that he since has spoken to Ramos, and the two consider the matter to be in the past.
“I already told Sergio what I thought about his comments. I told him that we played together since the U-21s and there was no need for him to send messages through the press.
“I said to him that he could call me up and tell it to my face. Everything is clear now and that’s what we had to do, to speak.
“We spoke on the phone and everything is fine.”
While Spain still is in shock following its 2014 FIFA World Cup disaster, Fabregas is enjoying an excellent first season at Chelsea. He has provided 14 assists in 17 games (in all competitions) for his club and played in Spain’s first two Euro 2016 qualifiers.
Fabregas says a hamstring injury, not a lack of desire to represent his country, has kept him out of Spain’s last three games.
“I had a tendinitis in my left leg and had I played, I could have suffered the same situation as (Luka) Modric,” Fabregas said.
While rifts between players will make it harder for Spain to recover in time for Euro 2016, they’ll make the soccer world take notice of the ongoing saga.
Photo by Twitter/@IndyFootball
