SAUL NIGUEZ MOVES TO CHELSEA ON LOAN
On switching to London, Saul said: ‘I am very excited to start this new challenge with Chelsea. Blues fans, I am one of you now and I can’t wait to wear the shirt, start training and see all of you. See you soon!’
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia added: ‘We welcome Saul to the Club and believe he completes our squad as we compete for honors in five different competitions this season. He is a proven winner, a player with huge experience and we know he will be very well-suited to the challenges that face us on all fronts in the coming year.’
The 26-year-old midfielder has up until now spent his entire club career in Madrid in his native Spain, having begun his youth career at Real Madrid before switching to Atletico, with one loan spell at another capital city club Rayo Vallecano.
During his time with Atleti, where he has played 447 matches and scored 53 goals, Saul has won the Europa League twice, the Copa del Rey, the Spanish and UEFA Super Cups, and as recently as last season, the league title in his homeland.
He played 33 of the 38 La Liga games in 2020/21 and scored twice as Diego Simeone’s side beat Real to the title by two points.
They were less successful in the Champions League however, with Saul starting both games of the round of 16 tie against Chelsea which the Blues won 3-0 on aggregate.
The previous time the two clubs were drawn together in the competition, in the group stage in 2017/18, Saul was also involved and indeed he opened the scoring with a header in our meeting at Stamford Bridge before an own-goal ensured the match ended in a draw.
Chelsea went on to play Barcelona in the knockout stages that season while the Spaniards dropped into the Europa League although they went on to lift that trophy. Saul scored a further three European goals in the campaign, against FC Copenhagen and home and away against Lokomotiv Moscow. Arsenal were defeated …