Chelsea have confirmed to Atletico Madrid that they won’t trigger the option to buy Spanish midfielder Saúl Ñíguez.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the decision to not activate the €35 million clause was made a few weeks ago. Now, the 27-year-old will return to Spain and make a decision on his future.
Hello blues,
I’m writing to take my leave of you. I would like to tell you how I felt during this adventure. Things didn’t start well at all. After a long time at home, changing everything wasn’t easy. (…) pic.twitter.com/HLmfK9BqrD— Saúl Ñiguez (@saulniguez) June 7, 2022
Spanish Midfielder To Depart Chelsea
Disappointing Time in England
The arrival of Saúl Ñíguez from Atletico Madrid was greeted with much positivity but the loan spell was largely disappointing.
The Spanish midfielder managed just 23 appearances for Chelsea during his 12 months at Stamford Bridge. From those outings, Saúl completed 90 minutes on just five occasions, two of which came in FA Cup wins against Chesterfield and Luton Town respectively – the latter of which he scored his only goal for the club in a 3-2 win.
In the Premier League, Saúl was selected in the Chelsea squad on 33 occasions but was an unused substitute 23 times, highlighting how much Thomas Tuchel relied on other members of the squad above him.
Saúl Statement
Taking to Twitter, Saúl commented to the Chelsea fans from his time at the club. He said: “Hello blues, I’m writing to take my leave of you. I would like to tell you how I felt during this adventure. Things didn’t start well at all. After a long time at home, changing everything wasn’t easy.
“Little by little things got better. Everything in life serves to improve and learn, and that’s what I take from this adventure.
“I’d like to thank the club for trying to take care of every detail to make me feel at home. I’d also like to give recognition to each worker, thank you.
“Thank you for making this club much bigger.
Thanks to all the fans for supporting me through thick and thin. I will be forever grateful. Thanks to all the staff for making it possible for me to win titles with the blue shirt.
“But above all, I wanted to thank my teammates. They have been fundamental so that I wouldn’t fall apart. They helped me to continue supporting the team and live a calm and positive day to day. Thank you!”
Future for Spanish Midfielder
Having made well over 300 appearances for Atletico, Saúl now faces an uncertain future. He joined the Blues on deadline day with Tuchel wanting more depth in the middle of the park but with the club not taking up the option to buy, will he return to the Spanish club and become a key player once again?
Saúl was open to a move away after disagreements with Diego Simeone about where he would like to play.
However, with the World Cup less than six months away, the Spanish midfielder will be looking to secure game time in order to make it on the plane to Qatar.
