Cesar Azpilicueta has revealed he rejected the opportunity to join Barcelona due to family reasons having also been won over by Chelsea owner Todd Boehly.
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The 32-year-old defender was seemingly set to leave Chelsea when his contract was set to expire in the summer.
Azpilicueta discussed a transfer move to Barcelona with head coach Xavi but signed a new year-deal at Stamford Bridge with Boehly, who completed his takeover of the club in May, reportedly stepping to in help keep him in London.
Chelsea had already lost Antonio Rudiger and Christensen to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively with Marcos Alonso also going onto join the Catalan club later in the summer. Azpilicueta however chose to stay.
‘At Chelsea I played less than 30 games and I was already a free agent,’ he told AS. ‘It had never happened to me in my life. But the new owners arrived and they showed me the desire to stay with me’.
Azpilicueta left the Spanish La Liga in 2010 to join Marseille, leaving for Chelsea two years later in a deal worth just £7m.
With his family firmly settled in London, the full-back conceded the summer was not the right time to return to his homeland.
‘London is my home and my children speak English better than Spanish,’ he said. ‘When I made the decision I think Xavi understood it. If things are clear, they are understood.’
Azpilicueta has played 17 matches for Chelsea this campaign, starting in the league seven times.
He is currently with the Spain squad who are looking to book their place in the World Cup quarter-finals when they take on Morocco on Tuesday.
Having taken four points from their opening two group matches – from a thumping 7-0 victory over Costa Rica and a 1-1 draw with Germany – La Roja lost their last group game against Japan last week.
