Chelsea have confirmed Andreas Christensen, Danny Drinkwater, Jake Clarke-Salter and Charly Musonda will all leave the club this summer at the end of their contracts.
Thomas Tuchel's side confirmed their retained list ahead of the 2022/23 season and announced four of their players would all depart Chelsea.
Christensen, Drinkwater, Clarke-Salter and Musonda are the quartet to be off, all of whom come as no surprise.
Barcelona are set to sign Christensen on a free transfer after agreeing contract terms despite Chelsea wanting to keep hold of the 25-year-old. He will join Antonio Rudiger making the switch to Spain after his transfer to Real Madrid was confirmed earlier this month.
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Clarke-Salter was expected to leave with several top Championship clubs showing interest in his signature, while Musonda confirmed his departure from Chelsea last month with an emotional farewell message on Instagram.
Musonda wrote: “It seems like yesterday I was arriving at Cobham, and that Chelsea football club welcomed me and my family to my new home. It has now been 10 years since that day and today, as the season ends, that journey has come to an end.
“I had the privilege of being part of, and being able to learn in, such an incredible organisation in world football, and in the process had the opportunity of winning all that was possible at youth level within the club and country playing a part of an important chapter at Cobham – and more importantly doing so while growing as a person.
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“From the ages of 15 until 21, I worked extremely hard to make my professional debut at Chelsea, at a time in which it was extremely difficult to do so, and I will always be thankful for the opportunity to have been able to play at the Bridge wearing the blue shirt, which is never a given or should never be taken for granted, particularly from where I come from.
“In all honestly, I would be lying if I said that I thought I would be leaving this way and even more so if I thought that I would go four years without playing football after my knee injury.
“The people who know me, know how much football has meant to me since I started playing from the age of five and for me not to be able to play for four years has been heartbreaking. There is no other way to put it, it’s been soul wrenching.
“Particularly because football is the only thing that I perhaps love more or as much as my family, or because I worked so hard the first six years at the club for one goal which was always to play for Chelsea. Never wanting or demanding to leave, partly because I really believed I could and would (play for Chelsea again) until the last day.
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“I fell in love with the club and the fans; people always say Chelsea fans don’t make noise in the stadium but I can assure you, the fans are amongst the best in the world and they have been unbelievable with me always – which is rare for a player who hasn’t even started more than once.
“I want to thank Adi Viveash, the late Dermot Drummy and Joe Edwards for developing me. I want to thank Antonio Conte for giving me an opportunity to fulfil a dream. I want to thank all my teammates I had along the way at youth level and in the first team, all of those who reached out when I was injured too. Sport is all about camaraderie and pushing ourselves to better one another, we can’t achieve anything without our teammates and opponents.
“I am extremely proud of all the boys I grew up with that are playing and representing the academy for Chelsea: Andreas, Rueb, Reece, Mase, Trevor. And across England and Europe at several levels: Tammy, Jeremie, Ake, Ola, Fikayo, Dion Conroy, Houghton, Swifty, Baker, Marc Guehi, T Lamptey, Billy, Jay Da Silva, Mukhtar, Wright and many more.
“What the future in football holds or where is still unknown, but what I do know is that while being injured I discovered my mental strength is my fortitude, not talent. Another thing that’s for certain is I will be back playing next season.”
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Drinkwater also leaves ending his dismal five-year spell at the club following his switch from Leicester City back in 2017. He also wrote an honest message of goodbye which reflected on a 'business move gone wrong'.
"My time at Chelsea has come to an end… actually feels really strange writing this," he wrote last month.
"Me, the club and fans are hugely disappointed with the outcome there is no doubt about that. Injuries, how I have been treated, mistakes I have made, issues of the pitch, lack of game time… the list of excuses could be endless but I would not and can not change what’s happened.
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"I’m going to look at positives over the past 5 years, I have played with great players, coached by awesome managers, worked with some brilliant staff, met some fantastic people, lived in some beautiful places, travelled the world and won some more silverware. Footballs a fantastic sport but this for both parties was a business move gone wrong, it’s as black and white as that.
"To the Chelsea fans I apologise for how this has turned out I would of loved for u to see me at my best in that shirt doing what I love. All the best."
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Chelsea, Danny Drinkwater, Andreas Christensen
