Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta broke down in tears after he was shown a prepared goodbye video showcasing his legendary status as he leaves the club.
Chelsea confirmed the long-serving defender would be departing the club on a free transfer – ending his 11-year-stay at Stamford Bridge.
The 33-year-old Cesar Azpilicueta has been a key figure for the Blues in a trophy-laden spell over the last decade that has seen him win 13 trophies – including two Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two Europa League titles and the Champions League.
His experience and solid performances at the back have been crucial to Chelsea’s recent success but his game time was reduced in the last season – making just 16 Premier League starts as the team struggled in all competitions.
Confirming he was departing, an emotional Azpilicueta says Stamford Bridge would ‘always be his home’ in a six-minute monologue.
‘I feel I gave everything. I love it,’ he told the club in a clip on social media.
‘I think it would be pretty obvious to pick the highest moment of my career, when we won the Champions League in Porto. It was my first trophy as captain.
‘Chelsea is my home, it always will be and hopefully I can come back in a different role.’
Paying further tribute to Azpilicueta, a joint statement from owner Todd Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali hailed his achievements and professionalism.
‘Cesar leaves an everlasting mark at Chelsea, as a warrior, as a champion, and as loyal Chelsea legend. He has set the standards at the club for more than a decade and demonstrated to everyone what is required day in, day out to achieve success.
‘Coaches and teammates past and present have trusted him to lead by example as captain. He has done so immaculately on and off the pitch, something for which we are grateful. For that and so much more, Cesar will always be welcomed back at Stamford Bridge.’
Their glowing tribute comes after the owners wrote just 31 words about Mason Mount following his £60m move to Manchester United this week.
Azpilicueta -who was strongly linked with Barcelona last summer and was keen to move to the Nou Camp – before he eventually signed an extension in 2022 to prolong his stay in west London.
After joining from Ligue 1 side Marseille in 2012, the defender has gone on to make 508 appearances for the club and became a fan favourite while also earning the captain’s armband following the departure of Gary Cahill in 2019.
Cesar Azpilicueta has played under nine different permanent managers at Chelsea and enjoyed his best run of form during the 2016-17 title winning campaign under Antonio Conte that saw him flourish in a back-three.
The Spanish international’s departure takes Chelsea’s tally of first-team sales to eight and follows Mason Mount’s exit on Wednesday.