Cesc Fabregas has admitted he was the person who threw the pizza that hit Sir Alex Ferguson after Manchester United's victory over Arsenal at Old Trafford in October 2004. The Como manager finally revealed the truth during a 2018 appearance on the Sky programme A League of Their Own, more than a decade after the incident.
The episode, widely known as 'Pizzagate', followed United's win that ended Arsenal's run of 49 consecutive league matches without defeat. A controversial penalty decision had left emotions running high, and Ferguson was struck by pizza as tensions erupted in the dressing room.
Fabregas confesses to throwing the pizza
Fabregas, who was a teenager at the time, said he did not intend to hit Ferguson. "Martin Keown is a liar because I saw him in front of me just, like, punching people so he didn't see anything," the World Cup winner said. "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."
He added: "I was like, 'I want to get in, but I don't know how to', and I threw, just threw it. Once I saw it was hitting, like, who it was hitting, which I didn't mean.."
Apology to Ferguson and later reflections
Speaking to beIN Sports, Fabregas confirmed he had already apologised to Ferguson in person, adding that he would not behave the same way now that he is older. "I was young, I definitely wouldn't use a pizza now, I would get straight in there now!" he said.
In a 2022 interview with ITV, Fabregas provided further insight into the incident. "We were 49 games unbeaten. They were so competitive but they were very smart people. I was getting a lot of stick as well," he said. "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 continued: "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 now manages Como, who face Manchester United in the Champions League on Wednesday night. He ended his playing career with Como in the 2022/23 season before moving into management.
