Cesc Fàbregas says the 13 years he spent in London with Arsenal and Chelsea left him feeling “more English than Spanish”, but believes the time was right to seek a new challenge at Monaco after seeing his playing time increasingly limited.

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Speaking for the first time since his departure for the Ligue 1 side was confirmed on Friday, Fàbregas admitted he could not have envisaged leaving Stamford Bridge at the start of the season and that his reunion with Thierry Henry, the Monaco manager and his former teammate at Arsenal, initially came as a surprise.

“I’m not going to lie, it was a difficult moment for me,” Fàbregas said of the tearful farewell he bade Chelsea’s fans after his final appearance, the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest on 5 January. “I spent 13 years in England, a lot of great moments. I started my career there, played for two top clubs, winning a lot of things, setting some records, having friends, meeting so many great people. I felt at times more English than Spanish in a way. It was a fantastic experience and obviously a very emotional moment.

“I felt it was the right time, after 501 games in English football – leaving on a high, which is what I always wanted. It’s the best time for me to move on and find new challenges and that’s why I’m here.”

Fàbregas started only one Premier League game under Maurizio Sarri and that, allied with Chelsea’s unwillingness to offer a new contract of longer than one year to a player who turns 32 in May, expedited his decision to join Monaco, who sit in the relegation zone.

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“At the beginning the opportunity to come here was a surprise,” he said. “I spoke to my family and we decided it was the right thing for my future. I feel like a young player with new boots, and hopefully we can achieve good things.

“I didn’t mean [it was a surprise] in a negative way. I mean I was in England for a very long time and comfortable where I was. In my head, even three months ago I didn’t feel I was going to move away from Chelsea. But some circumstances happened, the playing time and everything, and speaking to Vadim [Vasilyev, the Monaco chief executive], they convinced me about a new challenge. I’m very open-minded; I’m not scared of adapting to anything, I’ve been doing that since I was 16 and started playing professionally.”

Monaco would like to reunite Fàbregas with Michy Batshuayi, the Chelsea striker whose loan at Valencia is to be cut short, but Vasilyev said the player’s parent club were holding out for a permanent deal.