Azpilicueta on Barcelona move: "I spoke clearly with my actions"

Puzzled whether he regrets not pushing for a move to his homeland,

told

:

“I had won all the trophies with them [Chelsea]. We had been crowned the best club in the world. I was also made captain. I will not hide or be in a position where I only look after myself. By doing that I would let my team-mates, the manager, the club and the fans down. I know there was a big noise because we had other team-mates in a position where they were free agents. My name was there as well. But I spoke clearly with my actions. They are more important than talking and then doing your own stuff to protect yourself. I ended up signing another contract, with the confidence from the new ownership and in the new era. I have no regrets.”

The Spaniard was left in a similar situation to fellow defenders Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen who all decided to leave the club. The Spanish defender added:

“My situation was unique. I didn’t get to the 30 total until March and, by then, we were already operating under sanctions. I could have signed an agreement in January to join a team abroad as a free agent in the summer, but I never had it in my mind. I wanted to be with the club during a difficult situation. I had better options in terms of contract years and salary elsewhere, but that’s not what I wanted to do. I’ve been here for over 10 years. I’ve had a chance to create an amazing relationship with the fans, the club, employees. I could not leave. Even though I knew what triggering the clause would mean, my heart, my head didn’t allow me to do anything other than keep being ready for every match and playing 30 games. I did not know who the owner was going to be or what situation we were going to end up in, but that is how I felt.”

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