Cesc Fabregas eyes Champions League statement vs. Manchester United, with surprise support from Lionel Messi — SkimNews
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- Como will host Manchester United in the Champions League at Stadio Sinigaglia on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 12:45 p.m. ET, with the match on Paramount+; the odds list Como as the +120 favorite, the draw at +271 and United at +230.
- Cesc Fabregas joked that both sides might “park the bus,” then said Como would play its own football, adapt to the challenge and avoid viewing Manchester United as superior.
- Como defeated RB Leipzig 4-1 in its first Champions League match at Stadio Sinigaglia, with the Manchester United fixture scheduled as its second home game in the competition.
- Mirwan Suwarso, Como’s club president, leads an ambitious project backed by one of football’s wealthiest ownership groups, with investment, ideas, young players and Fabregas driving the club’s rise.
- Lionel Messi posted a photo of his son Ciro wearing a Como jersey, and Fabregas said he supplied the gift. Messi had also shared Argentina’s national-team dressing room with Como rising star Nico Paz.
- Enrico Preziosi said he urged Como to sign a 13-year-old Lionel Messi after his father sought $50,000, but height concerns were cited; Carmine Gentile and Antonino Imborgia denied the account, and Messi was at Barcelona by 15 rather than 16.
Why it matters: Como’s +120 odds against Manchester United’s +230 on Wednesday invert the paper advantage attached to United’s historic name. For Fabregas and Mirwan Suwarso, the second home Champions League game, following a 4-1 win over RB Leipzig, gives their investment-backed project a direct elite benchmark.
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