World Cup winner Cesc Fabregas appears as a hologram to judge Freestyle World Championship

Cesc Fabregas is well known for his technical ability and eye for a pass but the Spanish soccer star has turned his attention to a very different part of the game.

The AS Monaco midfielder was one of the judges at this year’s Red Bull Street Style World Championship, a tournament that pits the world’s best soccer freestylers against each other.

Amid the pandemic, the competition went digital and World Cup winner Fabregas appeared live as a hologram.

“It’s a completely different competition of what I’m used to,” Fabregas told CNN Sport.

“The amount of pressure that these guys are (under), they are doing the skills and they know the world is watching and that they cannot make any mistake because every little mistake can punish you.”

The event crowns both a female and male champion with Mélody Donchet and Erlend Fagerli’s claiming the overall prize.

Meanwhile, Fabregas awarded Erlend’s brother Brynjar Fagerli and Kitti Szász the “Best Trick Award.”

Fabregas, who is keen to learn more tricks after he’s retired, says it’s great to see women competing on the same stage as men.

“To be honest, nowadays we are so 50/50 in terms of physicality and brain-wise,” the 33-year-old said.

“Everyone wants to win. I’ve seen females that are born winners and they would do anything to win, the same as men.

“Maybe before you wouldn’t see that. Or maybe they had it, but they were not so much exposed.

“Nowadays, you can see men and women fighting for the same thing.”

On Friday, Fabregas played a key role in Monaco’s thrilling 3-2 win over Ligue 1 champion Paris Saint-Germain, scoring the winner with a penalty.

Watch the video at the top of the page to hear more about this year’s championship.