Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta wants to stay – despite interest from Barcelona.
Azpilicueta’s priority is to extend his stay at Chelsea and continue to fight for his place in Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Despite being club captain, he has been forced to sit on the sidelines more often than usual this season following the emergence of academy graduate Trevoh Chalobah, says the Athletic.
With Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen also competing for a place in the back three, and Reece James an indispensable at right wing-back, Azpilicueta even went six weeks without a Premier League start after their 1-0 win away at Brentford in October.
Barca coach Xavi is understood to be a huge admirer of his old colleague’s leadership skills and professionalism.
Barca are set to undergo a huge rebuild under Xavi having been dumped out of the Champions League group stages and with more than £1billion worth of debt on the club’s plate.
