Arsene Wenger has revealed that he turned down the chance to re-sign Cesc Fabregas when he wanted to leave Barcelona because he wanted to use him as an example to other younger players.
Fabregas spent eight years at Arsenal before asking for a return to Barcelona in 2011.
The Gunners didn’t want to sell one of their best players at the time, but he forced their hands and he got his move.
However, after just three years in Catalonia, he wanted a return to the Premier League and the only team he wanted to play for in England was Arsenal.
The Gunners also had an option to get their man back before any English team, but they turned down the offer to sign him and he moved to Chelsea instead, then managed by Jose Mourinho.
He helped the Blues to the Premier League title while the title continues to elude Arsenal.
In an interview with The Athletic as quoted by Metro Sports, Wenger said: ‘It was general guidance for me to make the players realise that if you leave here, you don’t come back.
‘It was a way to retain the players who wanted to see if the grass was greener elsewhere. ‘I did it for Thierry Henry, Sol Campbell, Jens Lehmann but they were different. ‘The young players who left I didn’t like to do it.’
