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Tag: Azpilicueta

  • Chelsea aim to terminate Azpilicueta deal this week

    Chelsea aim to terminate Azpilicueta deal this week

    Chelsea are set to call time on the Stamford Bridge career of a club legend this week.

    Per journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Blues will terminate club captain Cesar Azpilicueta’s contract imminently.

    The Spaniard is being given the club’s blessing to move on, as Chelsea revamp their squad.

    Azpilicueta will be signing for Inter Milan on a two-year deal to see out his career in Serie A.

    Chelsea will be bringing in Malo Gusto into the squad, who had already signed for the club in January.

    Azpilicueta may not have been in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting lineup next season, but his experience and personality will be missed in the dressing room.

  • Chelsea players believe in Potter methods – Azpilicueta

    Chelsea players believe in Potter methods – Azpilicueta

    Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta says the players are behind manager Graham Potter after defeat to Arsenal.

    Potter is still fine-tuning his system after joining Chelsea as head coach in September, with this result meaning he has suffered consecutive defeats in the league, having not lost in any competition prior to last week’s loss at Brighton.

    However, Azpilicueta refuses to accept that, believing the team need to come together as a collective to improve performances and results as quickly as possible.

    “They have been working together for longer, that’s true, but at Chelsea the demand is always high,” explained the Blues skipper. “We have to go in every single game for everything.

    “It is true that we were not going into the game in the best moment in terms of performances, in terms of position in the table. They were in a better moment, but once you step out onto the pitch it’s a London derby, everything has to stay there.

    “I think we need to look at ourselves because we are not in the position where we want to be, in terms of everything I think – goals scored, goals conceded, the way we play, the performances. This is a collective issue that we have to address.”

  • Barca making first offer for Chelsea captain

    Barca making first offer for Chelsea captain

    La Liga side, Barcelona are making an offer for Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta.

    The defender is under contract at Chelsea for the coming season, though wants to return to Spain and sign for Barca.

    Chelsea have refused to grant Azpilicueta a free transfer and instead are insisting he will only leave for a €10m fee.

    Mundo Deportivo says Barca haven’t been put off and are offering an initial €3m for the defender.

    The Catalans are prepared to go higher should Chelsea continue to act stubbornly.

  • Chelsea captain agrees to make Barca move

    Chelsea captain agrees to make Barca move

    Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta is ready to make a switch to La Liga side Barcelona.

    Football Insider claims the versatile defender, 32, has snubbed several offers from the Blues to extend his deal past the end of this season.

    And Azpilicueta has now reached an ‘agreement in principle’ to swap Stamford Bridge for the Nou Camp in July.

    The Spain international has been at Chelsea for ten years, winning numerous trophies including two titles and last year’s Champions League.

    But the opportunity to see out his final years back home with another top European side has been too good to turn down.

  • EPL: Brighton draw really disappointing – Azpilicueta

    EPL: Brighton draw really disappointing – Azpilicueta

    Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta concedes the manner of Brighton’s equaliser last night was tough to take.

    The Spaniard returned to the side and was part of a back three which was minutes away from keeping a clean sheet that would have given Chelsea a hugely important home victory.

    Yet after Danny Welbeck’s last-gasp header in front of the Brighton fans, Chelsea were left ruing missed opportunities earlier on in the game.

    “It’s really disappointing,” Azpilicueta told chelseafc.com.

    “Of course, we had chances to kill the game. They also had the chances. We left them alive and of course in the last minute to concede a goal and drop two points is very frustrating. We are not happy at all.

    “We knew Brighton make things difficult and we know they would press us high, and they would leave us big chances also for us, so we catch them in a few quick attacks where we could have been more clinical,’ the captain added.

    They also had a few chances. They play good football and we had to cope again with two injuries at half-time and you know, that leaves us in a bad position. It is not an excuse, we worked hard, and we were close to the three points.”

    He added: “The Premier League is the toughest league in the world, and every opponent is very difficult, but when you don’t get the three points it’s very disappointing.

    “We want to win games and hopefully we can give our fans a good start to the new year in front of the fans here against Liverpool. It is a tough moment, but we need to stick together and dig in. It is not an easy situation but this is how we have to overcome these difficult moments.”

  • Chelsea captain makes decision on Barca move

    Chelsea captain makes decision on Barca move

    Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta wants to stay – despite interest from Barcelona.

    Azpilicueta’s priority is to extend his stay at Chelsea and continue to fight for his place in Thomas Tuchel’s side.

    Despite being club captain, he has been forced to sit on the sidelines more often than usual this season following the emergence of academy graduate Trevoh Chalobah, says the Athletic.

    With Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen also competing for a place in the back three, and Reece James an indispensable at right wing-back, Azpilicueta even went six weeks without a Premier League start after their 1-0 win away at Brentford in October.

    Barca coach Xavi is understood to be a huge admirer of his old colleague’s leadership skills and professionalism.

    Barca are set to undergo a huge rebuild under Xavi having been dumped out of the Champions League group stages and with more than £1billion worth of debt on the club’s plate.

  • Transfer: Chelsea captain in advanced talks with Barca

    Transfer: Chelsea captain in advanced talks with Barca

    Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta is in advanced talks with Barcelona over a move this summer, according to reports in Spain.

    The Spaniard, who arrived in London in 2012 from Marseille, sees his contract run out at the end of the current season.

    That would allow clubs outside of the UK to sign a pre-contract agreement with the Spaniard next month.

    And according to El Nacional, talks are already advanced between the Blues captain and the Catalan outfit.

    The paper states that Xavi is personally pushing for the deal to go through, with club president Joan Laporta agreeind to his wish.

    Any move for Azpilicueta, though, would spell the end of Dani Alves’ short-term return.

    The Brazilian re-signed for Barcelona earlier this year, but is not able to make his debut until January.

    If Azpilicueta’s free transfer is finalised, it would mean no contract renewal for Alves, according to the publication.

    The 32-year-old has appeared in just one of Chelsea’s last seven Premier League matches, being made to watch from the bench for the six which he has missed.

  • I did something stupid to Chelsea captain – Zlatan

    I did something stupid to Chelsea captain – Zlatan

    AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has no regrets barging into Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta.

    The 40-year-old sent Azpilicueta flying after slamming his shoulder into the back of the defender in the closing stages of Sweden’s 1-0 defeat against Spain in the World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

    “The other day in the national team, I gave a tackle to [Cesar Azpilicueta]. I did it on purpose,” Ibrahimovic told the Guardian.

    “I’m not ashamed to say it because he did something stupid to my player. Acting big to my player.

    “It was a stupid thing but I would still do it to make him understand: ‘You don’t f***ing do that. You don’t have b***s to do it against me. But I will show you what happens if you do it to me’. That’s why I did it.”

    Typically, Ibrahimovic was not afraid of any retribution coming his way. Asked whether Azpilicueta approached him after the final whistle, he replied: “He will not say it to me but he will say it to my player – who will do nothing because he’s too nice.

    “It was not a good thing by me, but I would still do it. That’s me. I’m not ashamed to say it.”

  • Tuchel half-time talk inspired Tottenham win – Azpilicueta

    Tuchel half-time talk inspired Tottenham win – Azpilicueta

    Cesar Azpilicueta says Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel inspired their win over Tottenham.

    The Blues were lacklustre in the first half, with Spurs having the better of the chances in the derby clash on Sunday.

    However, Chelsea came out of the blocks in the second half, flying on all cylinders.

    They picked up a comfortable 3-0 win to take all three points from the contest.

    “He [Tuchel] was not happy, we were not happy with our performance,” the Chelsea captain told Sky Sports.

    “Even though we were able to arrive around the box we did not shoot on target, they created a few chances where we could have conceded.

    “Even in duels we were not as good as we usually are. We were sometimes too open and it was something that we had to address.

    “Playing like this, we couldn’t expect to win the game. The best thing we could do was to arrive at half-time at 0-0.

    “The reaction was good, everyone is humble enough to accept this and go again and give a strong second half.”

  • We controlled Liverpool, even with ten men – Azpilicueta

    We controlled Liverpool, even with ten men – Azpilicueta

    Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta says they leave Liverpool proud of their point.

    Kai Havertz gave Chelsea the lead after 22 minutes before Reece James’ handball in the penalty area led to his dismissal and Mohamed Salah’s equaliser from the spot.

    Azpilicueta said, “I think we had the best two chances, even if they had the most of the possession.

    “I think we controlled the game really, we had the chance to score the second goal even if we wasn’t at our best in terms of passing the ball. Their whole team presses really well.

    “The action [Reece James] naturally does with his arm, the referee gets information from VAR he goes and sees one image and it is enough for him to give a penalty and the red card.”

    He added: “Harsh. I feel sorry for Reece. The referee got advice from VAR to give it. He went to the screen to watch one replay.

    “We got the double punishment, red card and a penalty – and two yellow cards in the same action. We were angry. But you have to calm down and find a way to fight together as a team. I think the team fought and maybe we had the best two chances in the second half.”