Cesc Fabregas will face Manchester United as Como's manager in the Champions League on Wednesday night, renewing an old rivalry. The former Arsenal midfielder admitted in 2018 that he was responsible for the 'Pizzagate' incident that saw a slice of pizza hit Sir Alex Ferguson in 2004.
Pizzagate confession
The incident occurred in October 2004 after United beat Arsenal at Old Trafford, ending the Gunners' 49-game unbeaten run. A contentious penalty decision left tempers high, and Ferguson was struck by pizza in the post-match chaos. For over a decade, speculation surrounded the culprit, with Ferguson himself naming Fabregas as a potential thrower.
In 2018, on Sky's A League of Their Own, Fabregas finally confessed. He said: "Martin Keown is a liar because I saw him in front of me just, like, punching people so he didn't see anything. All of a sudden, I heard noises, and I thought, 'What's happening?' So I go out with my slice of pizza and I saw Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, Martin Keown... everyone pushing each other."
Teenage frustration
Fabregas, then a teenager, explained he had been frustrated at being an unused substitute. He told ITV in 2022: "I was very frustrated. You're warming up and didn't play. You're annoyed you lost. I just went in quickly to the dressing room and there was some food there, I was starving."
He added: "I took a slice of pizza and we started hearing noises. The first thing that occurred to me was to throw the pizza because I didn't have the power or the courage maybe to go into that fight."
Fabregas later confirmed to beIN Sports that he had apologised to Ferguson in person, saying: "I was young, I definitely wouldn't use a pizza now, I would get straight in there now!"
