Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is set to leave Chelsea for free after it emerged that no club will be willing to pay a transfer fee for him.
The 33-year-old returned to the Premier League after a toxic exit from Arsenal in the 2021/22 season. He spent the next six months of that season at Barcelona, where he would end up as the Catalan giants’ top goalscorer in all competitions.
They would unfortunately fail to achieve any of their trophy goals but the former Gabonese international’s showings at the Camp Nou (now Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship reasons) would win him a new fan base.
His exit from the club was met with some sadness and a large section of the fans have clamoured for him to come back in a supporting role. That return seems likely for the former Saint-Etienne man as reports emerged that Barcelona are looking at bringing him back to the club this summer.
They are not willing to pay a fee for him, however, instead preferring to let him see out his two-year contract at Stamford Bridge, according to recent reports. AC Milan and Atlético de Madrid are also reported to want him this summer but are unwilling to pay a fee for the former Borussia Dortmund striker.
This is forcing Chelsea to consider cutting their losses and letting him go for free this summer. They will terminate his contract and allow him to go to whichever club wants him the most.
His heart is set on a return to Barcelona, however, because he has felt the most love from the fans of the LaLiga leaders in this stage of his career. He was punished by Chelsea early in the year after he was seen celebrating with his old teammates in Barcelona’s dressing rooms following their El Clasico victory in March. Chelsea considered terminating his contract at the time as well.
Aubameyang will be one of a long list of failures from the £600 million in transfer spend by the club’s owners since the summer of 2022. However, he will be the only one to leave the club for free, which makes the investment in him a bad one.
He will leave the club having three goals in 22 appearances for the club, with one of those coming in 15 Premier League appearances. He has the chance to add to his tally when the Blues face Bournemouth on Saturday in the Premier League.
