CHELSEA STAR SPEAKS OUT ON POSSIBLE MOVE TO BARCELONA AFTER 'DIFFICULT' SEASON
Marc Cucurella says he is ‘happy’ at Chelsea and the thought of returning to Barcelona has not even crossed his mind, despite enduring ‘some difficult years’ at Stamford Bridge.
The 25-year-old left-back came in for heavy criticism at times last season as Chelsea finished the Premier League campaign down in sixth place, which ultimately cost Mauricio Pochettino his job as manager.
On the back of a high-profile £60million move in 2022, a record fee for a player departing Brighton at the time, Cucurella has fallen some way short of expectations and there were rumours in January that the Spaniard actively wanted to leave.
But Cucurella appears reinvigorated by the challenge of playing under new manager Enzo Maresca and is not even entertaining the idea of a future switch to Barca, where he played as a youngster.
The Spain international played 54 times for Barcelona’s B team but made just one first-team appearance for the Catalan giants before leaving his boyhood club for Getafe in 2020.
Asked if he had considered the possibility of returning to the Camp Nou, Cucurella told COPE: ‘Today I don’t even think about it, it doesn’t even cross my mind. I think that’s already happened.
‘You never know what can happen, but I’m not thinking about that .
‘At Chelsea I’ve had some difficult years, but I’m happy and my family is comfortable.’
Cucurella has been linked with Real Madrid in the past but the full-back was keen to distance himself from such speculation.
‘Something was rumoured. I don’t know much either,’ he replied when asked about a possible move to Madrid.
‘But I try not to let them tell me many things if they are not going to be done because you get too crazy.’
Cucurella has made 59 appearances for Chelsea over the last two season and is yet to win any silverware with the club.
His current contract, which he signed upon arrival in west London, runs through to the summer of 2028.
Last week, Cucurella drew the ire of Gary Neville, who argued that the defender starting at Euro 2024 was evidence that Spain had ‘something missing’ in their squad.
‘He’s aggressive, he’s tenacious, he’s a busy little full-back,’ the ex-Manchester United and England right-back said on ITV Sport.
‘The price tag still astounds everyone to this day.
‘The Spanish defence, it’s got a lot of experience now but there’s something just missing from Spain that makes you feel like they’re going to go all the way.
‘I have to say that him being at left-back is a good example of why we think that.’
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2024-06-23T17:14:34Z dg43tfdfdgfd