Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler (Catalan pronunciation born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder. He captains Premier League side Arsenal and also plays for the Spanish national team.
Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with FC Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16. Following injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, he established himself as Arsenal's starting central midfielder and playmaker.
Fàbregas was selected as a part of del Bosque's 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Fàbregas regained his place as a regular in Vicente del Bosque's squad. In June, he was named in the team for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. He scored his second international goal in a 5–0 win against New Zealand in the competition's group stage.
He featured as a substitute in four of their seven matches, in which Spain lost their opening game before winning the next six en route to the final. In the Final itself, Fàbregas set up the extra-time winner for Iniesta to win Spain the World Cup for the first time in their history.
He scored his second international goal in a 5–0 win against New Zealand in the competition's group stage.In the semi-finals against the United States (which Fàbregas started), Spain suffered a shock 2–0 loss, and its 15-game winning streak came to an end.
Fàbregas was named in the Team of the Tournament, a 23-man squad selected by the UEFA Technical Team.