Barcelona: Cesc Fàbregas hits back after benchwarmer jibe

Cesc Fàbregas has hit back on social media after being accused of swapping Arsenal to become a benchwarmer at Barcelona.

The midfielder, now at Monaco, left Barça for the Gunners as a 16-year-old and quickly established himself as a key first-team player in the Premier League.

Rejoined Barcelona in 2011 after hugely successful Arsenal stint

The Spain star was even named as club captain at the age of just 21 but chose to return to his boyhood club two years later after winning only one FA Cup during his time in north London.

Fàbregas found consistency difficult back at Barça, though, as he competed for midfield spots occupied by Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Xavi under head coach Pep Guardiola.

It was put to him by a Twitter user that he traded the Arsenal captaincy to "sit on the bench at Barcelona", but the player himself offered a pointed response.

"I started in 121 games out of the 151 I played... I won 6 titles, I scored in 2 finals, won a league of 100 points having played 36 games, 43 goals and 47 assists... but yeah, cool," he wrote.

Fàbregas won LaLiga, the Copa del Rey, two Supercopas de Espana, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup with Barça between 2011 and 2014.

Returned to Premier League when he signed for Chelsea in 2014

The Catalans then sold him to Chelsea after claiming he had a tendency to allow his form to drop in the latter half of seasons.

Fàbregas won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and EFL Cup with the Blues before he left for Monaco in January.