Cesc Fàbregas has admitted that he did not join Arsenal from Barcelona because Arsène Wenger had no place for him.

The Catalan midfielder, who signed for Chelsea for £27m, said that a clause in his contract gave Arsenal first refusal and that he spoke to Wenger but that in the end the manager decided not to proceed because Mesut Özil now occupies Fàbregas’s position. It was then that José Mourinho convinced him to join Chelsea ahead of the “many” other options he had in the Premier League.

“When I decided that my time at Barcelona had ended, I looked for the best option for me,” Fàbregas explained. “Arsenal was the first option, for contractual reasons. There was a clause that gave them the right to decide. We spoke to Wenger and he said that the space was very well filled by Mesut Özil and it was hard to find a place for both of us in the team.”

Fàbregas continued: “I wanted to go back to the Premier League and I had to think about what my options were then. I had many very good offers, the logical options. I spoke to José Mourinho and he told me that he wanted me there. He convinced me very, very quickly. He told me what I wanted to hear; he won me over and convinced me. It was very quick. I am very happy, very satisfied and I think it will all go phenomenally well.”