The reason Pep Guardiola refused to shake Cesc Fabregas' hand

Posted Monday, December 05, 2016 by givemesport.com

Manchester City and Chelsea played out an incredibly entertaining 90 minutes at the Etihad in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off.

While the action was enthralling, the end was unsavoury.

Sergio Aguero's horror tackle on David Luiz sparked a mass brawl with the Argentine getting sent off, along with Fernandinho who was seen to grab Cesc Fabregas around the neck and push him over the advertising hoardings.

The reason for Fernandinho getting so angry was because of a little slap by Fabregas round the face of the Brazilian.

After the match, it seemed as though City boss Pep Guardiola wasn't too impressed with Fabregas. The Chelsea midfielder held his hand out for a handshake with Guardiola following the match, only to be rudely rejected.

But why?

Well, if you thought it was because of Fabregas' involvement in the Fernandinho sending-off, think again.

That's because Spanish outlet Marca claim they know the real reason.

Fabregas and Guardiola spent one season together at Barcelona - and it seems they didn't get on too well.

Here's what Marca say: "Although publicly there has been no real hint of animosity, Fabregas' Barcelona return when Guardiola was on the bench was not at the request of the tactician, who had no real interest in seeing him return to the Camp Nou.

"Fabregas' move back to the Blaugrana largely came about as a result of Tito Vilanova's insistence and pressure from key dressing room figures such as Gerard Pique and Lionel Messi, who are close friends with the ex-Arsenal man.

"Their coexistence in the dressing room was far from ideal and they did not part on the best of terms, with Fabregas going on to join Jose Mourinho's Chelsea in 2014 doing little to improve their relationship."

So there you have it. Guardiola didn't snub Fabregas for his part in the scenes at the end of the match, he simply doesn't like him.