Former Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen has admitted that leaving Stamford Bridge this summer was one of the hardest decisions of his life, and paid tribute to the club that he spent the last decade with in a heartfelt message to the Blues faithful.
The centre-back joined the club from Brondby in 2012, before making the step up to the senior set up in 2015 before spending a season on loan in the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach.
Andreas Christensen spent a season on loan at Monchengladbach before making his ascension into the Chelsea first team. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Upon his return, however, he made his name in what was then-Antonio Conte’s Chelsea side, and has gone on to rack up 160 senior appearances across four managers for the Blues, lifting the Champions League and the Europa in the process.
However, he decided to leave the club at the end of his contract this summer, opting to join Barcelona as a free agent, something which he has felt the need to address now.
“I had a tough decision to make at the age of 16 to leave Denmark”, Christensen began.
“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, the Danish defender continued.
Andreas Christensen has left Chelsea as a free agent this summer to join Barcelona (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
“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”, the Barcelona defender added.
“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.”
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | AFC Bournemouth | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Arsenal FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Aston Villa | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Brentford FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Chelsea FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Fulham FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Leeds United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Leicester City | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Liverpool FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Manchester City | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Manchester United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Newcastle United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Southampton FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | West Ham United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 23 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 23 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 18 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 17 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 16 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 15 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 15 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 15 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 14 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 13 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 12 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 12 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 12 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 11 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 11 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 11 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 11 |
| Pukki, Teemu | Norwich City | 11 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 11 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa | 11 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 11 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 10 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 11 |
| Firpo, Junior | Leeds United | 0 | 11 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 10 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 10 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bednarek, Jan | Southampton FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 10 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 9 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 9 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 9 |
| Rudiger, Antonio | Chelsea FC | 0 | 9 |
| Mctominay, Scott | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 0 | 8 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 0 | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 7 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 7 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 12 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City | 11 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 10 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 10 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 10 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 9 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 9 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 9 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 9 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 8 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 8 |
| Kulusevski, Dejan | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Mbeumo, Bryan | Brentford FC | 7 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 6 |
