Barca officially confirm the acquisition of former Chelsea star

Barcelona confirm the arrival of former Chelsea star Andreas Christensen on a four-year deal

Barcelona have now officially announced via Twitter the arrival of former Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen on a free transfer. The Dane joins on a four-year deal, having spent the last decade in West London. 

An agreement has been in place for a while between Christensen and Barcelona but owing to financial difficulties, the Catalan club couldn’t register him as a player officially until now. 

Barcelona announced a €267 million deal last week to sell 10% of their TV rights for the next 25 years to American firm Sixth Street. The cash injection has now enabled them to register Christensen and AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie, who also joined on a free transfer.

Christensen joined the Chelsea academy as a 16-year-old and was once hailed as the successor to John Terry. Although not quite reaching Terry’s levels, Christensen made 160 senior-team appearances for the club and won every trophy available – except for the Premier League and the Carabao Cup. 

The Blues did win those two titles as well during Christensen’s tenure as a Chelsea player, but when they did, Christensen was on a two-year loan at Borussia Monchengladbach between 2015 and 2017. 

However, Christensen’s departure has provoked negativity amongst Chelsea fans due to the circumstances and the manner in which he left. 

Christensen won’t be missed much, despite spending a decade at Chelsea

When news broke that Christensen had pulled out of Chelsea’s FA Cup final squad to face Liverpool, that was the moment when everything was officially over between Christensen and the Chelsea fans. 

His release was confirmed by Chelsea almost a month ago, and not a single tear has been shed since. Such a shame, because it didn’t need to end this way at all.  Christensen could have left respectfully, but he chose the easier and faster way out. To pull out of the squad ahead of a major cup final, that’s unforgivable. 

Antonio Rudiger in comparison spent only five years at Chelsea, but the reaction to his departure has been full of sadness, gratitude, and regret over the fact that Chelsea couldn’t renew his contract in time owing to the sanctions placed on the club following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

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Throughout the ordeal, Rudiger was professional throughout and gave it his all until his very last minute as a Chelsea player.  Two players, same position, both left for free. However, one is a cult hero and the other is good riddance.