Cesar Azpilicueta reflects on joining Chelsea, becoming captain and rejecting Barcelona

Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has reflected on his time at the club, rejecting Barcelona and being the best captain possible.

The defender was close to leaving Chelsea after 10 years this summer, with La Liga side Barcelona heavily interested.

However, he opted to sign a new contract and commit his future to the club despite interest from Spain.

The Spaniard was named in Graham Potter's first starting XI as he replaced Thomas Tuchel as head coach at Stamford Bridge.

Azpilicueta has been utilised as back-up for Reece James on the right wing for the majority of last season but will be looking to reclaim a first team spot on the right of a back three this season.

Mason Mount and Cesar Azpilicueta applauding the Chelsea fans at Southampton. (Alamy)

Speaking to Chelsea's 5th Stand app, Azpilicueta opened up on his journey at the club.

"Well, it's different after all this time, obviously," he began. "When I first arrived, I was not the biggest signing and I joined the club after Chelsea had just won the Champions League in Munich, which was an amazing achievement.

"I felt the confidence of everybody at theclub from the first day - staff, team-mates, managers - and I wanted to be part of the history here, to create my own path because everyone is different.

"So the mind-set was very clear from my first day and that was to keep winning trophies, and to develop and improve as a player."

Despite spending 10 years at the club, Azpilicueta admitted that he is still hungry to keep learning and improving.

He continued: "The learning curve is still running.

"You can still learn every single day from every team-mate and from the staff and the manager. That's what I want to keep doing and do it to the best level."

However, it has not always been easy for Chelsea's captain, who struggled for game time when arriving from Marseille back in 2012.

He reflected on this period, admitting: "I would say it's been different in every part of my career, when I had different managers and different experiences.

Cesar Azpilicueta before Chelsea's win against Everton. (Alamy)

"When I arrived, I was not playing straight away so I had to take the time to learn, to sit on the bench and take it as an experience, and to be ready when the time arrived.

"Then, when I had more chances, I just tried to use them."

The skipper will be hoping that he can work his way into Potter's plans at Chelsea as the Blues look to recover from a poor start to the season, yet to win in the Champions League and suffering two defeats already in Premier League action.