Officials at Chelsea have been frustrated with £19m player for ages, he’s now close to leaving

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Officials at Chelsea have long been frustrated with Christian Pulisic – who is now close to leaving Stamford Bridge for AC Milan.

That is according to The Athletic.

So, why were those at Chelsea annoyed with Christian Pulisic? Let’s take a look…

What’s the story?

Well, it is said that the American’s reluctance to engage in media activities and marketing duties has frustrated Chelsea officials for ages now.

Pulisic – who has been nicknamed Captain America and is arguably one of the most marketable players in football – was never keen to live up to his nickname away the pitch, which annoyed the relevant people at Chelsea who had hoped to cash in on his reputation.

Nevertheless, the 24-year-old is now set to leave west London.

Chelsea and AC Milan have agreed a deal worth £18.8m for the United States international, and he is now set to join the Italian giants on a long-term contract.

Lyon – according to The Athletic – actually made a bid worth €25m (£21.4m). However, Pulisic informed Chelsea that he did not want to join the French side.

Chelsea can’t blame Pulisic for reluctance to be in front of the camera

Chelsea’s frustration at Pulisic for his lack of media presence is an interesting development to analyse.

On one hand, if the American had agreed to be Chelsea’s Captain America at the time of his £58m arrival from Borussia Dortmund in January 2019, the Blues would have every right to be annoyed at him for going back on that.

However, if it was merely something Chelsea expected from Pulisic, then that is unfair – the media are the ones who created this whole Captain America image around the forward, not him.

What Chelsea should be frustrated at is the fact that they only got 26 goals from Pulisic in 145 appearances, and are now having to take a £39.2m loss on their initial investment, despite having a better offer on the table from Lyon.