Cesar Azpilicueta has reflected on the 20-year playing career that carried him from Osasuna to Champions League glory with Chelsea, and on the break he now feels he needs after retiring. The 37-year-old, who spent last season at Sevilla, was speaking at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, where he collected a diploma in global football sport directorship through the PFA Business School – the latest addition to a set of qualifications that also includes a diploma from Harvard Business School and an MBA in business management from the Berlin School of Business and Innovation.
That appetite for study was on display before the biggest night of his career. Ahead of Chelsea’s 2021 Champions League final against Manchester City, Azpilicueta could not take his customary pre-match nap and turned to his coursework instead, saying the work took his mind off the pressure and noise on the streets of Porto. Later that day he lifted the trophy after captaining Chelsea to victory.
The defender traces that discipline back to his upbringing. “When I was a kid my parents pushed me to get good grades and finish school,” he told BBC Sport. “I wasn’t a professional footballer until I was 17, in my last year of school. Education was always important.” He added that when Covid-19 arrived and gave players more time, he wanted to learn, improve himself and do it in another language. “It wasn’t because I thought it was my last year as a footballer, but it did help me navigate the final years of my career, become a better person and a better footballer.”
Azpilicueta began at boyhood club Osasuna before joining Marseille, where he learned French, but it was his move to Chelsea in 2012 that proved transformative. He arrived as a relatively low-profile £7m signing into a dressing room full of established leaders such as John Terry, Frank Lampard and Petr Cech, alongside star names including Fernando Torres, Eden Hazard and Ashley Cole. “I started as a right winger, moved to France, then moved to Chelsea. I wasn’t a star signing. I had to find my way. Left-back, wing-back, centre-back in a back three,” he explained. “It was about consistency. I had to work hard to stay fit, adapt to different managers and different positions.”
He credits the culture at Stamford Bridge with shaping him. “When you arrive at Chelsea, you feel the ambition straight away. Every three days you have to win. Every game and every trophy matters,” he said. “That culture pushed me to the maximum and, especially when I left Chelsea, I felt that I had given everything I had for the club.” His education off the pitch helped him grow into a leader, giving him the confidence to represent Premier League players during the Covid-19 pandemic and to help organise initiatives and keep the club moving forward after owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Having succeeded Terry and then Gary Cahill as captain, Azpilicueta ranks among Chelsea’s greatest leaders, and he made 508 appearances across 11 years in west London – sixth on the club’s all-time appearance list. Yet he revealed that he has not returned to Stamford Bridge since leaving the club in 2023, one of dozens of players to depart after Chelsea changed ownership from Abramovich to the current American-led consortium in 2022. “I left Chelsea, but Chelsea will always stay in my heart,” he said. “I follow every game and I hope the club comes back to where it belongs.”
Asked about the demands at a club of Chelsea’s size, he was philosophical. “There are some very strong teams around and football sometimes needs a bit of time. You need connections, people playing together and understanding each other,” he said. “At a big club like Chelsea, the demands are high. But I think that’s normal. It should be demanding and ambitious because, speaking as a Chelsea fan, you always want to see the club winning trophies.” He added that he has confidence in manager Xabi Alonso, the staff and the players, and that he has been following Chelsea’s current captain, Reece James, who he believes will grow into a better leader.
Since calling time on his playing days, Azpilicueta says he is in need of a rest. “It was time to stop playing football because, even though I could probably still play, I didn’t have the energy to commit myself fully for an entire season,” he said. “At the moment I have another commitment, which is my family. I want to play some golf and enjoy life. For 20 years I was constantly travelling, playing and preparing for seasons. This summer looked completely different.” He admitted he cannot even contemplate playing football with friends for fun, because it would trigger his competitive instincts.
Now at what he calls a “different stage of life”, Azpilicueta replied “maybe” when asked whether he could become a sporting director one day. As for a return to Stamford Bridge, he is in no doubt that it will happen – just not on the pitch. “I will come back one day,” he said. “I won’t be putting on my boots, though.”