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Four “beautiful” years have come to an end this summer, as Wilfredo Caballero wrote on his Instagram post yesterday, bidding final farewell to Chelsea. The veteran goalkeeper, who’d been third choice for much of the season, was officially released by the club last week.
Caballero ends his Chelsea career with 38 appearances and 3 trophies, including an FA Cup, a Europa League, and of course last season’s Champions League triumph — though he didn’t get to play at all in the latter campaign. But as Reece James recently pointed out to a Twitter troll, it’s a team sport, and Caballero certainly has been a model backup as well as a mentor and dressing room leader.
“I just want to thank all of the Chelsea family for these beautiful 4 years together, for all the achievements, and my teammates for so many fun memories. It has been a pleasure and honour to defend this shirt and colours with my all. I want to wish you the best for the next season ahead. I’m excited for whatever follows, and I’m eager to continue my career for the new challenges which football brings to me and excites us all everyday. Thank you, Willy.”
-Wilfredo Caballero; source: Instagram
It doesn’t sound like Willy C is ready to retire just yet, and the 39-year-old was recently linked with a return to his old club, Elche who are back in the Spanish top division these days.
As far as Chelsea’s (backup) goalkeeping situation is concerned, we were recently linked with Werder Bremen’s Jiří Pavlenka while dubious reports in the English media have us among the teams linked with Wayne Hennessey, who’s a free agent these after being let go by Crystal Palace, and perhaps spending his spare time learning all about Nazis and fascism.