Chelsea will let their captain join Barcelona because of an ‘old promise’ – report

Barcelona are hard at work to secure new reinforcements in the upcoming summer to build a solid team ahead of next season. The Catalans are looking to bolster the team in every position across the pitch.

Recently, club president Joan Laporta all but confirmed the signings of Franck Kessie and Andreas Christiensen for next season. Now, the Blaugrana are also taking steps towards securing another Chelsea defender to add depth to the backline.

Cesar Azplicueta has been on the Catalans’ radar for a while now. Xavi is very keen on incorporating the Chelsea captain into the Barcelona squad to add some more experience and quality to the side during this crucial rebuild.

However, according to Marca, the 32-year-old’s signing will require more time. There was a clause in the defender’s contract that would trigger an automatic one-year contract extension, and it is not yet clear whether the clause has been exercised.

The Spanish outlet suggests that the clause may have been activated before the sanctions on Roman Abromovich, which means Azpilicueta’s contract, due to expire in June, is extended, and Barcelona may need to negotiate further.

It is not all bad, though, as Chelsea has a great relationship with the player and his entourage. They had reportedly promised Azpilicueta earlier that he would be free to negotiate an exit if he felt like it, regardless of his contract status.

Barcelona will therefore assess the situation before making any concrete approaches. In any case, it does not look like the Spaniard will leave Chelsea on bad terms, and negotiating a move should not be too complicated.