Asier del Horno requested that his contract at Chelsea be in Basque, meaning a translator had to be brought in to finalise his move to Stamford Bridge.
That’s according to former Athletic Club Bilbao director Eukeni Olabarria, who has revealed the former defender’s demands on Radio Popular, relayed by El Desmarque.
Del Horno joined Chelsea in a €12m deal from Athletic in July 2005 after spending the entirety of his career with Athletic, rising through their youth ranks and B team into the first team before making 145 appearances for the Spanish club.
He only spent a year at Chelsea, making 34 appearances in total, before returning to Spain with Valencia in July 2006.
His time in blue was largely an unforgettable one as he failed to establish himself under Jose Mourinho, despite being a regular throughout that campaign.
He certainly didn’t come close to the attaining the status he had enjoyed with Athletic, who it seems he kept close to his heart despite his departure.
That’s at least according to Olabarria, who says that the defender made a very specific request when in negotiations with Chelsea.
“It’s an anecdote that he won’t like if it reaches him… He wanted the contract with Chelsea in Basque,” he said.
“It’s nice, I even liked it. They said it wasn’t in Basque. A sworn translator even came, they wanted the contract in Basque.”
