César Azpilicueta breaks silence after signing new Chelsea deal and admits Barcelona heartbreak

César Azpilicueta has admitted he was tempted to leave Chelsea this summer after winning the Club World Cup last season.

The Spanish full-back had agreed personal terms with Barcelona and was constantly speaking to head coach Xavi, who saw him as the kind of leader that his Barcelona dressing room needed.

But after allowing Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger to leave, the Blues decided that they could not also let the club captain slip out the door to Spain.

“After the Club World Cup, where I became the only player to ever win every trophy, [I felt] it was the time to go back to Spain,” Azpilicueta said.

“But then everything happened with this club. I wanted to stay committed.

“I never did anything against my club. We had private conversations where I said everything.

“I have never been in a transfer market situation in 10 years. It was different.

“The last time was Marseille and this time the contract situation made it different because I had this clause [to extend my deal] after a number of games.

“For a period I was a free agent and who knows what could have happened then?

“ I decided to stay silent because there was already enough noise around me. I didn’t want to make it worse because I wanted to stay focused on my game.”

The new challenge and more than a decade at chelsea

The aggressive manner in which the club pursued his extension convinced the 32-year-old that he still had work to do in south-west London.

He now has the task of leading a team under a new ownership and in the face of uncertainty in the transfer market to challenge Manchester City and Liverpool for the league title.

Azpilicueta added: “We have a new project, with new players and youngsters coming in. I feel ready to look forward.”