Chelsea’s retained list has been released following the completion of the 2021/22 season, and it has been revealed that four players have departed the club after their contracts expired.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Andreas Christensen, who had been linked with a transfer to Barcelona this summer, has left Stamford Bridge after a decade with the club following his departure from Danish side Brondby in 2012. The 54-cap Denmark international appeared in 161 first-team matches for Chelsea in all competitions, scoring twice and helping the Blues win the Champions League, Europa League, Club World Cup, and UEFA Super Cup.
Danny Drinkwater, who joined the Blues in a £35 million transfer from Leicester in 2017, has not played for the first team since the 2018 Community Shield defeat to Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.
Drinkwater only scored once in 23 appearances for Chelsea and was loaned out four times, the most recent of which was to Reading in the Championship for the 2021/22 season. Drinkwater has also spent time on loan at Burnley, Aston Villa, and Kasimpasa in Turkey.
After ten years at Stamford Bridge, winger Charly Musonda has departed the club. Musonda played seven times for Chelsea during a period marked by extended absences due to injury, including three Premier League appearances, with his lone goal coming in the EFL Cup triumph over Nottingham Forest in 2017.
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Musonda, like Drinkwater, spent time on loan, playing for Real Betis in Spain, Celtic in Scotland, and Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands, totaling 36 games across five loan periods.
With his 14-year relationship with the Blues coming to an end, centre-back Jake Clarke-Salter completes the list of senior departures. Under caretaker manager Guus Hiddink, the 24-year-old centre-back made three first-team appearances for Chelsea, including one league game in a 4-0 win against Aston Villa in April 2016.
Clarke-Salter has been on loan from Chelsea six times, playing for Bristol Rovers, Sunderland, Vitesse, Birmingham, and most recently, Coventry City, amassing 69 Championship matches, 29 Eredivisie games, and 12 League One appearances.
Antonio Rudiger, a German international centre-back, also departed the club last month after his contract expired. The defender joined Real Madrid on a free transfer after being nominated in the PFA’s Premier League Team of the Year for the 2021/22 season on Thursday.
While no other players’ contracts are up for renewal this summer, Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso of Spain, as well as record-signing Romelu Lukaku, have all been linked with summer departures.
