Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has set the record straight with international team-mate Sergio Ramos, who questioned his commitment to the national team.
Fabregas and club team-mate Diego Costa missed Spain’s last two games earlier this month due to injuries.
Sergio Ramos questioned the absence of the two Chelsea players, who had played 90 minutes in their 2-1 win against Liverpool just days prior to joining the camp.
‘Yes I felt like he was alluding to me,’ Fabregas told Spanish radio station Cadena Cope. ‘I hate that someone doubts my commitment.
‘I have played many games (for Spain) and have joined the national team many times without playing. I’ve played a total of 94 games for Spain, I’ve been going for nine years, always. And with a big smile.
‘I already told Sergio what I thought about it (his comments).
‘I told him that we played together since the Under 21s and there was no need for him to send messages through the press.
‘I said to him that he could call me up and tell it to my face. Everything is clear now and that’s what we had to do, to speak. We spoke on the phone and everything is fine.’
The 27-year-old insists it was crucial for him to remain in London during the international break in order to recover from a hamstring problem.
‘I had a tendinitis in my left leg and had I played, I could have suffered the same situation as (Luka) Modric,’ Fabregas said.
Real Madrid’s Croatian midfielder Modric aggravated a thigh injury in a 1-1 draw against Italy and will be sidelined for three months.
‘I told the (Spain) coach (Vicente del Bosque) and everything was fine,’ Fabregas said. ‘He had the same thing when he was a player.’
Despite his recurring hamstring problems, Fabregas has enjoyed a superb start to life at Chelsea since moving to the London outfit this summer after three seasons at Barcelona.
Fabregas has scored one goal and set up 10 more in 12 Premier League appearances so far to help Jose Mourinho’s side lead the Premier League.
‘I am playing football with him (Mourinho) where I feel really good, in the position I like to play in,’ he said. ‘I feel free.
‘Perhaps I’m playing the best football of my career. I hold the ball and the confidence just keeps growing.’