Monaco have agreed a deal with Chelsea to bring Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas to Ligue 1.
The 31-year-old had been out of favour at Stamford Bridge this season and, with his contract expiring in June, has departed for the French top flight on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
Fabregas joined Chelsea from Barcelona in 2014 and had initially been a key player for Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, winning the Premier League title under both.
However, Maurizio Sarri s arrival ahead of 2018-19 effectively spelled the end of Fabregas Chelsea career, as the Italian brought in his former Napoli midfielder Jorginho, who instantly took the Spaniard s position.
The transfer brings Fabregas long association with English football to an end, at least for the time being, having played 501 times for Arsenal and Chelsea.
It is a great pleasure to join AS Monaco, a new project for me, said Fabregas. The group is of quality with young players and a young coach.
I m here to help the team, I m looking forward to starting, we have a great match to play in Marseille on Sunday. I am very excited.
Annonce Fabregas
— AS Monaco (@AS_Monaco)
Fabregas move also sees him reunite with former Gunners team-mate Thierry Henry.
Henry spoke at a news conference on Monday confirming his interest in Fabregas, whom he claims to have spoken to three times a week since 2007 when the Frenchman left Arsenal for Barca.
Vice-president Vadim Vasilyev added: We are very pleased to welcome to AS Monaco Cesc Fabregas, a world-class player and a great professional, whose arrival demonstrates the ambition of the club.
This is obviously a very good technical reinforcement for the team but we are convinced that his experience at the highest level will bring a lot to our players on and off the field.
Monaco will hope Fabregas signing can provide the necessary spark to help them avoid the drop.
Henry s side are second from bottom in Ligue 1 and five points adrift of safety after an abysmal start to the season which has seen them win just three times in 18 matches.
