Speaking on Viva el Futbol, De Zerbi reflected on Cesc's work with Como over the past two years.
He said, : "I don't have to give advice to anyone. I saw him twice, once during Italy-Norway, we spoke for just 5 minutes... I'm sorry for the way he's treated."
Asked to expand on his comments, the Italian continued: "Everyone can say what they want, we live in a democracy, but when people go too far with their judgments and start talking about presumption or saying he's trying to be a show-off, those are mean words that bother me. If you want to talk about results, when it comes to Fabregas, you have to keep quiet because Como is sixth.
"They say he made a great transfer, but he's sixth—where should he be? I don't understand. A coach isn't just about getting the team on the pitch; he's also about so much more, about management and a billion things. If you only have to analyze the result, you don't need all these pundits."
De Zerbi added, "Everyone should play the football they want. I don't understand the envy towards him. I don't think he's disrespectful when he speaks. I feel like I'm seeing what I went through 10 years ago."