Cesar Azpilicueta will leave Chelsea today and sign for Atletico Madrid.
That is according to well-respected journalist Fabrizio Romano.
He has reported on Twitter that Cesar Azpilicueta, 33, is going to sign a contract on Thursday to become an Atletico Madrid player.
“Cesar Azpilicueta will sign the contract as new Atlético Madrid player tomorrow,” Romano said.
“He will leave Chelsea on free transfer — deal 100% in place since last week, as exclusively revealed.”
Azpilicueta, who’s been with Chelsea since 2012, is going to leave a big hole in the dressing room at Stamford Bridge.
The £150,000-a-week (Salary Sport) defender has been the club captain for several years and a superb role model for his teammates.
There’s been a lot of players walk through the exit doors at Stamford Bridge already during a busy summer transfer window, but Azpilicueta perhaps deserves the biggest applause of them all on his way out.
We fully agree with Chelsea’s decision to let the versatile full-back depart on a free transfer. It’s been a smooth ending to 11 fantastic years at the club and we’ve seen him go out with real dignity.
With Azpilicueta leaving the club, Chelsea’s captain’s armband is up for grabs. The Chelsea Chronicle has put forward three suggestions who should be in contention to succeed him in that role.
We suspect he’ll be a valuable asset in La Liga next season for Atletico, but he was no longer needed as a mainstay in the Chelsea line-up.
For Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino, we can map out what his defence is going to look like next season.
There’s competition for places in both full-back positions. Meanwhile, we have talented centre-halves in Thiago Silva, Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill.
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