CHELSEA CAPTAIN CESAR AZPILICUETA LEAVES CHELSEA AFTER 11 YEARS AT THE CLUB

   Chelsea defender and long-time captain Cesar Azpilicueta is leaving Chelsea this summer, the club confirmed recently.

   In a statement released on the club’s website, Chelsea chairman, Todd Boehly and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali said: “Cesar leaves an everlasting mark at Chelsea, as a warrior, as a champion, and as a loyal Chelsea legend. He has set the standards at the club for more than a decade and demonstrated to everyone what is required day in, day out to achieve success.”

   “Coaches and teammates past and present have trusted him to lead by example as captain. He has done so immaculately on and off the pitch, something for which we are grateful. For that and much more, Cesar will always be welcomed back at Stamford Bridge.”

   One of the best Chelsea players over the past decade, Azpilicueta leaves the Premier League giants after making a whopping total of 508 appearances for the club, the most by a non-Englishman. The Spaniard has the sixth-most appearances in the club’s history, trailing only John Hollins (592), Frank Lampard (648), John Terry (717), Peter Bonetti (729), and 1960s legend Ron Harris (795). 

   The Navarra-born player leaves West London as a legend of the game, having won every trophy available to the club during his time there, including the club’s first ever FIFA Club World Cup. Azpilicueta twice won the Premier League and Europa League at Chelsea and is one of only six players in football history to have won the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League, Super Cup, and Club World Cup. 

   Fighting back tears at Stamford Bridge, an emotional Azpilicueta said: “It is difficult to express with words what I feel. It has been incredible and just, thank you to everyone, because it couldn’t happen without the help of a lot of people. What a journey. Those moments that I take with me will last forever.”

   “This is my home and I hope to see everybody here back one day. The love that they have shown me every single time is something that I’m really proud of. Hopefully we can keep this relationship forever.”

   The former Spanish international is leaving the club after a more than blissful 11 years at the highest level of European football. Azpilicueta was the team’s captain for four years and guided Chelsea to only the club’s second Champions League title in 2021, an achievement the 33-year-old said was the highest moment of his career.

   “That moment where we were champions of Europe,” said Azpilicueta. “And I was the captain. My first trophy as captain. More than that, the moment after with my family, with a lot of people that we worked so hard to be able to, to be there.”

   “When I first arrived at the training ground and I could see all the trophies on the wall. You want to be there and you want to be part of the history of the club. I wanted to help the club to get it. It’s something that I’m really proud of.”

   A consistent, no-nonsense defender during his time at Chelsea, Azpilicueta was the complete embodiment of what it meant to wear the blue shirt and earned respect from coaches, teammates, staff and rivals alike.

   Azpilicueta will now join La Liga giants Atletico Madrid on a two-year contract that will keep him in the Spanish capital until June 30th, 2025. The three-time Premier League champion is Atleti’s third signing of the summer after the club acquired left back Javi Galan from Celta de Vigo and former Leicester City center back Caglar Soyuncu this week. Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo told Spanish sports radio El Partidazo de COPE on Thursday that Azpilicueta will be presented at the Wanda Metropolitano on Friday.  

   As for Chelsea, Azpilicueta hopes to come back to the club in a different role, a sentiment that most fans at the club will be more than open to. For now, it’s goodbye for the 2013/14 Chelsea Players’ Player of the Year, another notable exit this summer as the squad continues to take shape after the team hired sought-after manager Mauricio Pochettino in May.

-Maher Abucheri

Twitter: @pabloikonyero

Photo: Christopher Johnson. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

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