12 months ago, Cesar Azpilicueta looked set to end his 11-year stay at Chelsea with a move to Barcelona on the verge of being completed, but he is now seemingly heading to Atletico Madrid.
According to The Athletic, The Spanish full-back is set to undergo a medical and join Diego Simeone as Atletico bid to be involved in the La Liga title race next season.
Azpilicueta was persuaded to stay in West London and sign a two-year contract extension last summer, amid Barcelona’s interest, but after his loyalty to the club, Chelsea are reportedly set to sanction his exit for no fee after an agreement between the parties.
Azpilicueta is set to join former Leicester City defender Caglar Soyuncu and Celta Vigo’s Javi Galan as new signings for the Colchoneros this summer.
‘Remarkable’ full-back will leave a big hole in Chelsea’s defence
He was out in the cold in the early days of his time at Chelsea, with Jose Mourinho not a big fan of his early on, instead choosing to stick with Ashley Cole, but he eventually got his chance.
He didn’t look back after that, so much so, that Mourinho once remarked that a team of 11 “Azpilicueta’s” could win the UEFA Champions League.
This just shows the impact the now 33-year-old has made since his £7 million arrival from Marseille, which could arguably be described as one of the biggest bargains in Premier League history.
With two Premier League titles, a Champions League, one FA Cup, and a Carabao Cup to the Spaniard’s name, since he joined Chelsea in 2012, he will no doubt go down as a Chelsea legend for years to come.
With the experienced and influential spine of the team departing recently, with the likes of Azpilicueta, Mason Mount moving to Manchester United, N’golo Kante moving to Al-Ittihad, and Jorginho moving to Arsenal back in January, the rebuild needed under new boss Mauricio Pochettino will be a hugely important one.
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