Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen has announced that he has left the club as a free agent after spending 10 years with the Blues. The Denmark player also used the opportunity to open up about the mental challenges he faced during his last few months at the club.
Christensen made a total of 161 appearances for Chelsea and left with Champions League, Europa League, and Club World Cup winners’ medals. However, he was never a regular starter at the back for Chelsea even though the club has had many coaches during the last ten years.
Andreas Christensen is currently linked with a move to Barcelona but the deal is yet to be completed because of the financial issues at Barcelona. He, however, took to his Instagram page to say goodbye to Chelsea supporters and share his experience at the club.
He wrote: “I had a tough decision to make at the age of 16 to leave Denmark. I met many different clubs but there was only ever one choice for me and that was Chelsea.
“From the moment I arrived they made me feel at home, I’m grateful to Jim Fraser and Neil Bath who immediately embraced me as part of their family.
“Some of my proudest moments at the club were when we won FA Youth Cup and UEFA Youth League.
Those were a special group of young players that I was proud to have as teammates. “I was fortunate to play under some fantastic managers including [Antonio] Conte, [Jose] Mourinho, and now Thomas Tuchel. “Last year was my proudest achievement as a player when we lifted the Champions League in Porto.
“I was a young boy at Chelsea with all the hopes and fears of a player starting his career, I’m grateful to the whole club for making my dream come true. “Having spent ten amazing years at this club, I felt now was the right time for a new beginning for me and my family.
“Mentally the last few months have been tough as it’s not been an easy decision to leave this club and the fans. “I’m not the most talkative person so sometimes people don’t understand how much the club and the fans mean to me. “I will miss the players, staff, and everyone here. I wish the best for the club and the fans in the future.”
According to multiple reports, his transfer to Barcelona could be hijacked by Bundesliga champions FC Bayern Munich. However, none of the deals has been confirmed but Christensen would prefer a move to Spain over Germany.
Football journey of Andreas Christensen before and during his time at Chelsea
The Denmark international started his career as a footballer with Skjold Birkerød and later joined Brøndby, where he spent eight years. Christensen’s performance at the early stage of his career attracted clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich.
He decided to join Chelsea in 2012 in a free transfer but didn’t play for the club until October 2014. At 17-year-old, he played his first game for Chelsea’s senior team as a right-back in the 2-1 win over Shrewsbury Town in the fourth round of the League Cup.
Christensen didn’t play for Chelsea again until January 2015 before moving to Borussia Mönchengladbach on a two-year loan deal from Chelsea in the same year.
The Denmark player returned to Chelsea in 2017 and started having little game times in the team. He later signed a four-and-half-year contract the following year.
He won all the trophies available in club football with Chelsea except the English Premier League before his contract expired in June 2022.
Christensen is currently without a club but could move to Barcelona before the start of next season.
