Veteran Chelsea star opens up on his future at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta refuses to comment on his future with the club ahead of FIFA Club World Cup campaign

Speaking to the media ahead of the Blues’ Club World Cup semi-final on Wednesday (h/t football.london), Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta remained mum on his future at the club and instead diverted the focus on the upcoming game.

Azpilicueta is out of contract in the summer, which means that the Blues are in danger of losing their club captain for free at the end of the season. The Spaniard has so far not shown any indication of staying at Chelsea beyond the current campaign.

When quizzed about his future with the Stamford Bridge side, Azpilicueta refused to comment about the situation but spoke about how the club and life in London had changed his life. At 32, he is one of the club’s longest-serving players.

“I’m not going to speak about my future. We are one day before the semi-final of the tournament. Of course, I arrived in the summer of 2012 and I didn’t have kids. My kids were born in London and you know how I feel about Chelsea. But I am not going to comment on my future.”

The Spain international moved to Chelsea in 2012 from the French side Marseille, and the player has only grown in leaps and bounds in west London after locking down the right-back spot in the past couple of years. Azpilicueta has also proven to be a versatile player, capable of playing in any defensive position – even on either flank.

Focus on the game

Azpilicueta is into the last six months of his current deal with Chelsea, which means that the player is free to engage in talks with foreign clubs and sign a pre-contract agreement. With the player refusing to commit his future to the club in recent weeks and time running out until the beginning of summer, his departure seems likely.

Questions regarding his future were batted away, with the 32-year-old claiming that his current focus was on winning the Club World Cup and not on his contract with the club. One could argue that it is heartening to see the skipper keep his eye on immediate concerns.

“My future is not the most important thing right now. My main target is to win the trophy and then we will see what happens with my future. I think everyone is trying to create their own history within the history of the club.”

Manager Thomas Tuchel has a defensive headache in the summer to sort out, with the German set to lose Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, and Andreas Christensen for free in the same transfer window. If the manager is not able to convince his first-choice defenders to stay at the club for a few more years, then Chelsea will have a huge void to fill at the back.

If things stay the same at the end of the season, Tuchel will need to say goodbye to a modern Chelsea legend. Azpilicueta is the longest-serving player in the current squad and has also won everything available to him in the English game.

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The Spaniard has been linked with a return back to his native country, with Barcelona looking to secure his signature in the summer. The Catalan club will be getting a vastly experienced player as well as a leader for free next season if they manage to pull off a potential deal.

For now, as Azpilicueta says, the Spaniard has his mind focussed on the Club World Cup semi-final, aiming to win the competition in what could be his swansong season at the club. The tournament is the only competition that the defender has not won during his time with Chelsea, after narrowly missing out on the trophy to Corinthians in his first season with the Blues.