John Obi Mikel has seen some of the very best in Chelsea’s history play for the club during his time as a player at Stamford Bridge.
Mikel’s very successful tenure in West London has left him with very high expectations of what the current squad should be achieving, and in turn has left him frustrated at times with Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea.
Mikel has criticised Filip Jorgensen in a rare appearance this season, as well as questioning whether the young squad have the winning mentality that a lot of players he featured alongside had.
One individual who summed that up was Cesar Azpilicueta. After winning the Club World Cup in 2021, the Spaniard had earned every honour available to him during his time at Stamford Bridge.
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John Obi Mikel says Cesar Azpilicueta was terrible when he joined Chelsea
Despite being widely-regarded as one of the best defenders in the club’s recent history, things were not always so positive during Azpilicueta’s time in West London.
Mikel has stated that the Chelsea players were not completely convinced by his abilities after he joined from Marseille, however as time went on he continued to prove the doubters wrong.
He said: “I’ll tell you that Azpilicueta when he joined the first couple of weeks, we were thinking, “What the f— is going on here?
“But credit to the guy. He’s gone on to just improve and got better season after season after season honestly. And he’s become this he’s now he became like, you know, incredible. One of the best captains as well.”
Azpilicueta still starring after leaving Chelsea
Azpilicueta said his emotional goodbyes from Chelsea in 2023, moving to Atletico Madrid where he played a key role. He featured 54 times across two seasons.
After travelling but not playing at the 2025 Club World Cup, the Spaniard joined Sevilla, where he has been a regular at the back this season.
Azpilicueta is seen as one of the biggest bargains in Chelsea history, and in the conversation for being on their Mount Rushmore of players, defenders and captains.