FC Barcelona’s long-term planning extends beyond the current coaching cycle, with potential successors and future opportunities always relevant to the club’s sporting direction. Cesc Fàbregas is among the high-profile coaches who could become an option for the Blaugranes: his Como contract reportedly includes a low-cost exit route to Barcelona, although the clause also benefits Arsenal and Chelsea.
SPORT, citing journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, has reported that the clause would allow the former Barcelona midfielder to leave Como for one of his former clubs for a symbolic sum. That gives the Catalan club a defined route to pursue him if the opportunity arises, but the available reporting does not describe Barcelona as having priority over the other two clubs.
The distinction matters: this is not a Barcelona-only first option or evidence that Fàbregas is preparing to leave. The report says he is under contract with Como until 2028 and wants to see out that deal, continuing his work with the Italian side.
Fàbregas has been Como’s head coach since 2024, having previously worked with the club as an assistant. His progress in Italy has drawn attention to his prospects as a manager, but the clause only sets out a potential mechanism for a move; it does not establish that Barcelona have made an approach or that any of the three clubs intend to use it.
The arrangement would still depend on circumstances at both clubs. Barcelona would have to decide that a change in the dugout was necessary, while Fàbregas would need to want the move; his reported preference for now is to remain at Como. Arsenal and Chelsea are also named as possible destinations under the same terms, so Barcelona would not be the only club with access to this route.
That makes the clause a potential advantage rather than a guaranteed succession plan. A symbolic fee could reduce the financial barrier to appointing him, but it would not remove the sporting decision, competition from the other clubs named, or the question of timing.
Barcelona have previously structured future rights into player moves, including retaining a contractual advantage connected to Guille Fernández. The situations are not identical, but both underline the value of clear terms when a future return or move may become relevant.
The clause also sits within the broader recruitment planning overseen by the sporting department, where timing and fit matter as much as access to a target. A low-cost route could make Fàbregas easier to consider if the coaching position opens, but the report offers no indication that such a change is imminent.
For now, Fàbregas remains tied to Como through 2028 and is reported to want to continue there. Barcelona’s advantage is that a future approach could come with a symbolic exit cost-not that the Catalans hold exclusive rights or that a move is already in motion.