Boehly’s first problem: Azpilicueta tells new Chelsea owner he wants to join Barcelona
Chelsea have finally agreed the sale of the club and the Blues can start planning for the future now that Todd Boehly and his consortium partners are set to take charge. The American billionaire will know that there is a lot of work to do, as Chelsea have felt the impact of the Roman Abramovich sanctions in recent weeks.
Even if they’ll be once again able to sign players and negotiate new contracts, several soon-to-be free agents have already planned their exits, with Antonio Rudiger expected to join Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen set to join Barcelona.
Now, another defender could be on his way to LaLiga Santander, as Cesar Azpilicueta is also determined to leave Stamford Bridge after a glorious decade at the club.
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Even though the Spanish defender triggered a one-year performance-related contract extension in March, Diario AS report that he has agreed a two-year contract with Barcelona, worth €13m per season. There is even the option to extend for a third.
Azpilicueta will turn 33 years of age this summer and wants to move back to Spain. That’s why Atletico Madrid were also an option, before personal terms were agreed in principle with Barcelona.
According to Diario AS, the Chelsea captain will inform the new owners of his intention to leave, in the hope that they’ll sign off on his departure in an act of goodwill, based on all his years of service to the club.
🚨| FC Barcelona have total agreement with Azpilicueta for a contract of 2+1 seasons & a salary of €13M/year gross. @diarioas
— Managing Barça (@ManagingBarca) May 7, 2022
Centre-back is Chelsea’s priority in the transfer market
Whether or not Azpilicueta is allowed to follow Rudiger and Christensen out the door, centre-back will be a transfer market priority for Chelsea in any case.
It is expected that the Blues will try to bring in one or both of Sevilla’s Jules Kounde and RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol this summer, although that won’t be cheap. Aged 23 and 20 respectively, however, those acquisitions would set up Chelsea for the medium-to-long term. For the new owners, who want to convince Thomas Tuchel that they’re serious about keeping the club at the top of European football, this could be a price worth paying.
