He won the Premier League twice with Chelsea, but left through the back door this summer. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, after 155 official matches, was sold to AC Milan. He is the next homegrown player to leave the London club.
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The 27-year-old midfielder spent nearly two decades at Chelsea. He went through the entire youth training and grew into an international in the Blues' jersey. 'I love the club and the fans, but I wasn't satisfied with the number of matches I was playing. Moreover, it was not often in my best position,' Loftus-Cheek explained his exit to the BBC.
Last season, Chelsea used the midfielder 33 times, nineteen of those as a starter. But never in the role that suited him, as a box-to-box midfielder. 'I felt like I had more to give, but I wasn't given the opportunity. I'm physically at my peak and was playing good football, so I thought it was time to look further.'
Loftus-Cheek's departure is indicative of the exodus at Chelsea. Like Mason Mount (Manchester United), another culture preserver leaves Stamford Bridge. Even more, the player who has been under contract the longest is now Ethan Ampadu. The Welshman arrived at the club in 2017, but did not get beyond twelve official matches in the first team.
With Loftus-Cheek's departure, the number of Chelsea departures stands at thirteen. Among others, Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City), Kalidou Koulibaly (Al-Hilal), Edouard Mendy (Al-Ahli), N’Golo Kanté (Al-Ittihad) and César Azpilicueta (Atlético Madrid) have already followed Mount and Loftus-Cheek. Hakim Ziyech is still on the list to leave London.
Updated: 11:28, 12 Jul 2023
