The Manchester United and Arsenal 'Pizzagate' mystery remained unsolved for more than a decade before Cesc Fabregas spilt the beans

This week's Champions League clash between Manchester United and Como has opened up old wounds from more than 20 years ago. Cesc Fabregas will take on United as a manager for the first time, more than two decades on from his most infamous run-in with the club as a player.

Fabregas was a teenager on the Gunners' bench in October 2004 when Arsene Wenger's side travelled to Old Trafford chasing a 50th unbeaten match in the Premier League. The game would go on to be better known for what happened after the final whistle, though, with home manager Sir Alex Ferguson having a slice of pizza.

The encounter would come to be known as 'Pizzagate', with mystery surrounding who threw the food in question. A few years on, speculation began to mount that Fabregas might have been involved, though he initially kept his mouth shut.

Fabregas was identified as a likely suspect by Ferguson himself, while former Arsenal centre-back Martin Keown stoked the fire further. Keown indicated "A Spanish fella with great technique" was to blame, while stopping short of naming anyone directly.

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The speculation meant questions started to come Fabregas' way. Eventually, during an appearance on Sky show A League of Their Own, he removed all doubt about what went on - though not without calling out his former team-mate Keown.

"Martin Keown is a liar because I saw him in front of me just, like, punching people so he didn't see anything," the Spaniard said. "All of a sudden, I heard noises, and I thought, 'What's happening?' So I go out with my slice of pizza and I saw Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, Martin Keown... everyone pushing each other.

"I was like, 'I want to get in, but I don't know how to', and I threw, just threw it. Once I saw it was hitting, like, who it was hitting, which I didn't mean."

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He also confirmed further down the line that he had apologised directly to Ferguson. "I found out later it touched Mr Ferguson and I apologised already publicly and I’ll do it again," he told beIN Sports.

"It wasn’t intentional it was a moment that just happens. I was young, I definitely wouldn’t use a pizza now, I would get straight in there now!”

In 2022, Fabregas revealed slightly more detail about Pizzagate during an interview with ITV. That was the year in which he would move to Como, initially as a player, before later moving into a coaching role.

"We were 49 games unbeaten. They were so competitive but they were very smart people. I was getting a lot of stick as well," he said when reflecting on Arsenal's Old Trafford reverse. "I was very frustrated. You're warming up and didn't play. You're annoyed you lost. I just went in quickly to the dressing room and there was some food there, I was starving.

"I took a slice of pizza and we started hearing noises. The first thing that occurred to me was to throw the pizza because I didn't have the power or the courage maybe to go into that fight."