Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella has revealed the sentimental reason behind his penguin goal celebration. Cucurella’s time at Chelsea has not always been as plain-sailing as it currently is. The defender arrived in London from Brighton in 2022, having spent just a season with the Seagulls as an introduction to English football. At the time of the transfer, Cucurella’s £55 million base fee was a record amount received by Brighton.
The Spaniard struggled for consistency during his early days with the Blues in what was a turbulent time for the club overall. Towards the end of the 2023/24 campaign, the left-back started to find his form, which he carried into the summer, being a key part of the Spanish side that won the Euro 2024.
Cucurella has seen this form, for the most part, follow him into the 2024/25 season. The defender is an established part of Enzo Maresca’s first team as the Stamford Bridge side seek a return to Champions League football. At the time of writing, Cucurella has scored four Premier League goals, more than he has ever notched in any other season.
Marc Cucurella 24/25 Stats So Far
Competition
Premier League
Conference League
FA Cup
League Cup
Fans have noticed Cucurella’s celebration this season, in which he imitates a penguin. It was first seen just a week after the defender was at fault for conceding two goals against Tottenham Hotspur, with many thinking that the celebration was a way of mocking himself for slipping. It would transpire, however, that there is a far warmer meaning behind Cucurella’s new celebration.
Cucurella Celebration is For His Family
Spaniard detailed the reasons behind his decision
Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella during a pre-match warm-up
In an interview with Sky Sports, Cucurella revealed that the celebration is dedicated to his wife, which began as a joke. He said:
“I do the penguin because I read on the internet that the penguin chooses his partner, and they have one partner for the rest of their life.
“So one day I read this, and I sent it to her, so then I say…we are always joking because I never score, no. So if I score, I do this, blah, blah, blah, and then the problem is, I score a lot of times, so now I do the celebration a lot of times. And now my kids, they’re watching me doing this, and they do the penguin at home. Hopefully I can have this in FIFA (FC Games).”
Chelsea fans will not be complaining about Cucurella’s vein of goalscoring form (at least in comparison to his own previous tallies). It would seem that the defender has finally found a club at which he is settled, and, as a player still in his mid-20s, the penguin celebration could be seen at Stamford Bridge for years to come.
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( All stats are fromTransfermarktand are correct as of 28/03/2025 )