In his press conference ahead of the final Premier League game, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said that Andreas Christensen’s withdrawal front the FA Cup final was not his first time
It was revealed on Wednesday that the Danish centre back chose not to play for Chelsea against Liverpool in the FA Cup final at Wembley. Manager Tuchel confirmed the reports, while also stating that it was not the first time he has done so.
“He had his reasons,” responded the German when asked why Christensen would make himself unavailable for such an important game. “They stay private and confidential.”
Tuchel then added: “But it was not the first time. As you can see over the last weeks, we had some of the same situations why he did not play so regularly. We thought that we are in a good progression and good development because he played very strong in the match before the final against Leeds.
“But the conversation took place and we have to respect it and we, of course, respected it and he has our support.”
Tuchel unsure of Christensen’s participation in upcoming games
Chelsea will host Leicester City on Thursday at Stamford Bridge as they play for third place following capitulation in their last two Premier League games.
Asked if Christensen, 26, will play his last game for the club against the Foxes or against Watford at the weekend in their final match, Tuchel said: “It was very short notice before the cup final, and not only this match, other matches in the other weeks. There’s no chance I have any prediction for tomorrow or the weekend.”
Chelsea are facing a mini-crisis with three of their first-choice defenders set to leave the club at the end of the season. Antonio Rudiger and Christensen are set to be El Clasico rivals from next season after having played alongside each other for four seasons. The German sealed a move to Real Madrid earlier in May which will be made official once the season ends.
Christensen’s move to Barcelona will also be made official when the season ends, but the Blues are unsure if club captain Cesar Azpilicueta will move with Christensen to Camp Nou in the summer.
The Catalan giants have been in discussions with the Spain international but the details of the move are unclear to even Chelsea. Tuchel was also asked about Azpilicueta leaving at the press conference. He replied: “I would hope strongly, he knows this, he knows it. We are still in the talks to find out the ideal solution.”
