Cesar Azpilicueta To Complete Chelsea Exit As Mauricio Pochettino Faces New Captain Decision

Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta is set to complete a move to Atletico Madrid on Thursday, ending his 11-year career at Stamford Bridge.

The 33-year-old has been allowed to leave Chelsea on a free transfer in recognition of his service to the club.

Chelsea have reached a mutual agreement to waive the final year of his contract, which was due to expire next summer.

Azpilicueta has made over 500 appearances for Chelsea since his £7million move from Marseille in 2012 and won every available major trophy in that time, including two Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups and the Champions League in 2021.

Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have given the defender the green light to leave after he helped the club out of a difficult situation last summer.

The Blues had failed to sign a host of defensive targets and were left scrambling for expensive options like Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella.

Then-manager Thomas Tuchel and the owners convinced Azpilicueta to reject a move to Barcelona and stay for one more season.

Chelsea were particularly in need after seeing both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen leave on free transfers.

Azpilicueta held off on a move back to Spain but wants to finish his career in his homeland for family reasons, which has also been recognised by Chelsea.

Mauricio Pochettino will now need to find a new captain to replace Azpilicueta, with Thiago Silva, Reece James and Kepa Arrizabalaga among the contenders to take the armband.

New signing Malo Gusto, a 20-year-old right back, will serve as Azpilicueta’s replacement in the squad after Chelsea signed him for £31m in January.