Chelsea legend Ceaser Azpilicueta is "really close to joining Atletico Madrid" despite reaching a "verbal agreement" to join Champions League runners-up Inter Milan, reveals transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
Chelsea transfer news – What's the latest on Cesar Azpilicueta?
The Blues have been clearing house in a huge way over the last month, selling players like N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, and Kalidou Koulibaly to the burgeoning Saudi Pro League whilst simultaneously shopping Kai Havertz and Mason Mount off to Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester United respectively.
Granted, this wave of selling their players was needed as their ballooning squad has been one of many elements blamed for their terrible season last year, with reports that some players were even changing in hallways as the dressing room was too crowded.
However, one of the players set to leave Stamford Bridge is the club captain and all-round legend of the club, Azpilicueta.
The Spaniard still has one left on his £180,000-a-week contract, but interest from Italian giants Inter Milan and the aforementioned need to trim the squad made for the perfect time to say goodbye.
The deal looked to be complete earlier this week according to reports, the former Marseille man would undergo his medical in the next few days.
However, recent developments have thrown a real spanner in the works for Internazionale, as Atletico Madrid look set to hijack the deal and bring Azpilicueta back to Spain, per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
Romano broke the news on his YouTube channel, saying:
"I am told that now Azpilicueta is really close to joining Atletico Madrid. Its exclusive news, we heard about Inter in the past few days, he had an agreement, a verbal agreement on personal terms with Inter to join them, then Inter were still focused on different things, we know about Brozovic and many other things."
What did Azpilicueta achieve at Chelsea?
Azpilicueta will undoubtedly leave Stamford Bridge as a Chelsea legend. Since joining the West London club for just £7m from Marseille in the summer of 2012, he has gone on to win just about everything there is to win in club football.
During his 11-year spell with the Blues, he has won two Premier Leagues, one Champions League, two Europa Leagues, one FA Cup, one Carabao Cup, one European Super Cup and one Club World Cup.
As if that wasn't enough to be considered one of the club's all-time greats, he won one of the Europa Leagues and the Champion's League as the club's captain.
He has been a player appreciated by his managers as well, with Thomas Tuchel saying:
"He's super important, he was super important from day one."
If this really is the end of the road for his time with the Pensioners, he leaves after 508 games and nine major trophies as a modern great.