Jose Mourinho: Cesc Fabregas not one of the Chelsea players pushing for the manager to be sacked

Mourinho is believed to have retained a strong relationship with Fabregas and spoke to him both before and after he was sacked as Chelsea manager

Jose Mourinho and Cesc Fabregas are believed to have retained a strong relationship (Getty Images)

Chelsea fans vented their anger at Cesc Fabregas during the weekend victory over Sunderland, with one fan using a banner to label him a “rat” along with Diego Costa and Eden Hazard, but Jose Mourinho does not believe he is one of the players responsible for his sacking last Thursday.

Mourinho was axed as a result of Chelsea’s terrible start to the season which saw them languishing down in 16th position in the Premier League table, although the 3-1 victory over the Black Cats lifted them above Newcastle and into 15th with new manager Guus Hiddink watching on from the stands.

It was widely reported that Mourinho’s negative on the dressing room and certain individuals desire not to win for him were behind the decision to remove him as manager, with Chelsea’s technical director Michael Emenalo stating a “palpable discord between players and manager” as the board’s reason to look for a new man to inspire the squad.

However, the Telegraph reports that Fabregas was not one of the players campaigning against Mourinho, and in fact the 52-year-old Portuguese saw the former Barcelona and Arsenal midfielder as one of the players who was still fighting for him rather than against him.

It’s added that Fabregas met with Mourinho twice in the hours before and after he was dismissed by club owner Roman Abramovich, and they have remained in contact since Mourinho left Chelsea’s Cobham training base on Friday after saying his final goodbye to the squad – which not all of attended.

Mourinho is believed to have identified Fabregas as a key figure in trying to turn around Chelsea’s fortunes on the pitch, but after informing him of this he was soon dismissed by the Russian billionaire. Again, Mourinho spoke with Fabregas to inform him of the news, thank him for his efforts since arriving at Stamford Bridge in a £30m transfer from Barcelona in 2014 and wished him well.

Fabregas was one of very few Chelsea players to publicly speak out over Mourinho’s sacking, with the Spaniard taking to Instagram to write: “Thank you for all you have done for me. I owe you a lot and we will all miss you. Good luck in the future and I know you will be back soon.” Both John Terry and Cesar Azpilicueta also sent similar messages, and the captain also spoke glowingly of Mourinho following Saturday’s victory in their first match without him in charge.