Cesar Azpilicueta: Chelsea Captain, Cesar signs new two-year contract to end Barcelona speculation
Chelsea Captain, Cesar signs new two-year contract : Highlights: Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta added another two years to his west London stay. He ended Barcelona’s long-running pursuit of the 32-year-old. The Spaniard moved to Chelsea from Marseille in the year 2012. Azpilicueta: “I am really happy to extend my stay at Chelsea, my home.”
Cesar Azpilicueta has committed 2 more years of his future to Chelsea. He extended his Blues contract until 2024.
The Chelsea captain, Cesar added two more years to his west London stay. In this regard, he thwarted Barcelona’s long-running pursuit of the 32-year-old.
The Spaniard moved to Chelsea from Marseille in the year 2012. He has won major club trophies since then. He swept the board of the 2021 Champions League and 2022 Club World Cup trophies.
The long-serving defender automatically triggered the addition of a year to his Chelsea deal at the back-end of the last term. But he has now committed to more than that to his Stamford Bridge tenure.
Boss Thomas Tuchel was determined to retain Azpilicueta. It was important to have him on his team. Toni Rudiger and Andreas Christensen’s departures affected the strength of the team. So Cesar’s presence and his leadership were important to influencing the Blues.
“I am really happy to extend my stay at Chelsea, my home,” expressed Azpilicueta. “It is almost 10 years since I first arrived and joined the club, so I really feel the love and I am really excited for the new project we have in our hands.”
“I would like to say thank you to (Chelsea owners) Todd (Boehly) and Behdad (Eghbali) for giving me the opportunity to keep my journey at this amazing club and I am really looking forward to continuing our adventure.”
“I am a really proud captain and I hope we can share many good memories together.”
The decision of Azpilicueta to commit to Chelsea is hoped to prove a major boost to Tuchel. The Blues are in the process to reshape their defense and squad.
The arrival of Kalidou Koulibaly adds genuine quality at center-back. But the leadership of Azpilicueta and his Premier League experience remain highly-prized commodities by Tuchel.
Chelsea continues to push to sign Marc Cucurella from Brighton. Levi Colwill is expected to move toward the other direction. He is likely to be either on loan or permanently.
The Blues harbor their interest in Southampton’s Kyle Walker-Peters too.
Another target for Chelsea is Leicester’s Wesley Fofana. But the valuation of the Foxes could prove prohibitive.
Azpilicueta’s new deal relieves an edge of pressure on the recruitment of the Blues.
“We are so happy that Cesar is staying at Chelsea for a minimum of two more years,” said Boehly, the Chelsea chairman and co-controlling owner.
“We are thrilled with our captain showing his exemplary commitment and leadership yet again. There is still so much to do together.”