Pep Guardiola's 5 biggest mistakes

#3 Fabregas’ signing and his use

Fabregas’ Barcelona tenure – summed up

After years of pursuit and tapping up which was often bordering on illegal, Cesc Fabregas was signed by Barcelona in 2011 for close to £30 million.

It was a summer of celebration for the Catalan club. Their youth academy product had joined them after developing into one of the best midfielders in the world under Wenger’s guidance. He was added to the plethora of world class players in their midfield line.

However, the reality wasn’t so hunky dory. Fabregas’ best position was as a central midfielder not as an attacking one. But he was a defensive liability when played deeper. To get the best out of him, he needed to be paired with a traditional defensive midfielder. His best seasons have always been when he was paired with someone like Flamini at Arsenal or Matic at Chelsea.

At Barcelona, the defensive midfielder position was unchallenged for and for very good reasons, held by Busquets. This meant Fabregas was a liability whenever played deeper. Pep played him all over the pitch including wide positions as well as, as a false nine. This unsettled him and it reflected in his inconsistent performances.

While Fabregas was struggling, another La Masia future superstar, Thiago Alcantara, was benched more often than required to accommodate the struggling former Arsenal player. This sowed the seeds for the departure of the “Next Xavi”. Although he was signed by Pep Guardiola himself at Bayern, Barcelona were surely unhappy to lose out on their prodigal talent.