Currently enjoying his international break with Spain, Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has been interviewed by local outlet Cadena Ser.
It’s been over a year since he left Athletic Club Bilbao to join the Stamford Bridge side in a €80m deal. Now despite having left the Basque club, he claims he’s still a big fan, and follows them very closely.
“I saw the derby, I see Athletic whenever it doesn’t match my games, I have friends there. We’re seeing a team with a very strong identity, what Gaizka Garitano wants,” said Kepa (via Mundo Deportivo).
“He’s getting very good results, the games he had at this start before the break were not easy and they have seven points. He has a great staff and, as every year, the plus of San Mamés and the fans, the one of playing at home, will be very good for them.”
Kepa has also spoken about the old rumours which used to link him to a Real Madrid move, constantly talking about a transfer which never happened. He says he was in a hard position at the time he left Athletic.
“Obviously, when I renewed I didn’t have in mind that six or seven months Chelsea would come with €80m and that I would leave. These are not moments of doubt, but in which I find more or less the path that I will take in this sporting life. When you make a decision that marks so much, you need time. At certain times I felt, not pressure, but many spotlights fixed on me, for good and for bad. In some moments I needed more time than I would have needed in other circumstances.”
Kepa has also spoken about the famous episode with Maurizio Sarri, which happened in the League Cup last year.
“I’m not proud of what happened… A situation that I hadn’t lived and that came to me in a flash. Everything went very fast, with many keystrokes. I apologised, he explained to me what he had felt. Internally, it was finished the next day. It was an unpleasant situation, but we left in a good way and from there we made a great end of the season.”
Spain are playing Romania today and the Faroe Islands on Sunday for the Euro qualifiers. Once Kepa returns to Chelsea, they have the tough challenge of facing Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.
