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Cesc Fabregas says Chelsea must be wary of timeless Andres Iniesta

Andres Iniesta  during the La Liga match between Barcelona and Espanyol at the Nou Camp stadium
Image: Cesc Fabregas has heaped praise on former Barcelona team-mate Andres Iniesta

Cesc Fabregas has warned his Chelsea team-mates to not underestimate Barcelona's ageing midfielder Andres Iniesta.

Fabregas, 30 - who played alongside Iniesta, 33, at Barcelona and for the Spanish national team - says age does not matter for a player who has always relied on his intelligence rather than his physicality.

Barcelona's Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho (L) replaces Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta during the Spanish 'Copa del Rey' (King's cup
Image: Iniesta is expected to start on Tuesday as Coutinho is cup-tied in the Champions League

Iniesta is expected to start in Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first leg at Stamford Bridge because Barcelona's January signing Philippe Coutinho is cup-tied having already represented Liverpool in the competition.

Fabregas believes Iniesta's quality on the ball is enough for him to continue playing a the very highest level into his late 30s.

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"He's still good; for this type of player age doesn't really matter," Fabregas said.

"Once you have a talent, once you have the class that he and so many other 'big' players have, they can play until their late 30s.

"Physically, it's important, obviously because the game nowadays depends a lot on that. But when you have the quality, when you have the intelligence, it can sometimes compensate."

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Chelsea's Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas passes the ball during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Swansea City at Stamford Br
Image: Fabregas comes up against his former club for the first time as a Chelsea player on Tuesday

Asked if the Barcelona midfielder was his idol growing up, Fabregas replied: "You're making him very old! He's only three years older than me.

"We played with the Spain under-21s together. We've played together from when I was 18 years old.

"I never saw him as an 'idol' because we always played together. I saw him as a team-mate.

"A person obviously that I admire, but in a different way from an idol I looked up to when I was young."

Barcelona's coach Josep Guardiola (L) celebrates with Barcelona's midfielder Cesc Fabregas after their victory on Real Madrid at the end of the second leg
Image: Fabregas signed for Barcelona in 2011 when Pep Guardiola was manager

Fabregas cited Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and former Portugal winger Luis Figo as his Barcelona footballing heroes growing up.

He continued: "I used to look up to Guardiola because he was playing in my position; I used to love Luis Figo when he was at Barcelona. These two were probably the ones I looked up to most when I was little.

"But this generation of Spanish players, and not only Spanish players, in Barcelona has been fantastic."

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