Cesc Fabregas’s deal at Como includes a clause that names three of his former clubs and hands each of them a pre-agreed fee to hire him as head coach, according to a report in Madrid daily AS this week. The three names are Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea.
The mechanism, as described in the report, would allow any of those sides to bypass an open negotiation with Como and pay a set compensation figure already written into Fabregas’s contract. The exact amount has not been disclosed.
For Barcelona the interest is a long-term one. Hansi Flick agreed a one-year extension that runs through to 2028, with an option for a further season, and there is no immediate vacancy at the Nou Camp. Fabregas is being positioned as a future candidate rather than a short-term target: a Barcelona academy product who left for Chelsea in the summer of 2014.
Di Marzio points to the same three clubs
Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has independently described the same exit clauses. Speaking to Greek outlet Betarades and carried by Barca Blaugranes, he said Fabregas had already rejected approaches from Inter, Roma and Bayer Leverkusen because those clubs are not covered by the triggers, and that Como had refused to let him go.
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“He had an exit clause for top clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona, so it depends on which of these clubs will begin to struggle,” Di Marzio said.
Coach of the Year after a historic season
Fabregas took the Como job on a permanent basis in the summer of 2024, having stepped up from an interim role after ending his playing career at the club the previous year.
He guided Como to a fourth-place Serie A finish and a first-ever Champions League qualification in 2025-26, and was named Serie A Coach of the Year at the Gran Gala del Calcio for that campaign. Como have opened the 2026-27 season with a 1-1 draw at Udinese and a 2-1 win over Napoli in the league.
An away trip to the Nou Camp already in the diary
The Champions League draw has already put Fabregas on a direct return route to Catalonia. Como were paired with Barcelona in the league phase, and their meeting falls in matchday 8 at the Nou Camp, the final round of the new format.
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