Andrea Christensen broke his silence after his contract with Chelsea expired. The Danish international revealed how “mentally difficult” the last few months have been for him.
The 26-year-old defender ended his 10-year stay in London by deciding to face a new challenge.
Christensen left Chelsea with 161 appearances, as well as winning Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup medals, but never felt like a full-fledged star for the Blues.
Explaining why he left Chelsea at this point in his career, Christensen wrote: “At 16, I had to make the difficult decision to leave Denmark. I met so many different clubs but I only had one choice and it was Chelsea. From the moment I arrived, I felt at home. I am grateful to Jim Frazier and Neil Bath who immediately accepted me as part of their family. One of the moments I am most proud of at the club was winning the FA Youth Cup and the Youth League Uefa. It was a special group of young players that I was proud of as teammates. I was lucky enough to play with fantastic coaches like Antonio Conte, José Mourinho and Thomas Tuchel. I am proud to have won the Champions League last year. I was a young boy at Chelsea with all the hopes and fears of a player starting his career, I am grateful to the whole club for making my dream come true. After spending ten wonderful years in this club, I felt that now is the right time for a new start for me and my family. Psychologically, the last few months have been difficult, because the decision to leave this club and the fans was not an easy one. 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, the staff and everyone here. I wish the club and the fans the best for the future. “
