Cesar Azpilicueta has suggested he rejected the chance to join Barcelona due to family reasons having also been won over by Chelsea owner Todd Boehly.
The 32-year-old full-back was seemingly set to leave Chelsea when his contract was due to expire in the summer.
Azpilicueta discussed a move to Barcelona with head coach Xavi but eventually signed a new year-deal at Stamford Bridge with Boehly, who completed his takeover of the club in May, reportedly stepping to in help keep the Spaniard in London.
Chelsea had already lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively with Marcos Alonso also going onto join the Catalan giants later in the summer.
Azpilicueta however opted to stay.
‘At Chelsea I played less than 30 games and I was already a free agent,’ he told AS.
‘It had never happened to me in my life. But the new owners arrived and they showed me the desire to stay with me’.
Azpilicueta left Spain in 2010 to join Marseille, leaving for Chelsea two years later in a deal worth just £7million.
With his family firmly settled in London, the defender admitted the summer was not the right time to return to hie homeland.
‘London is my home and my children speak English better than Spanish,’ he said. ‘When I made the decision I think Xavi understood it. If things are clear, they are understood.’
Azpilicueta has made 17 appearances for Chelsea this season, starting in the league seven times.
He is currently with the Spain squad who are aiming to book their place in the World Cup quarter-finals when they take on Morocco on Tuesday afternoon.
Having taken four points from their opening two group games – from a thumping 7-0 win over Costa Rica and a 1-1 draw with Germany – La Roja lost their final group game against Japan last week.
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