Chelsea have confirmed that defender Andreas Christensen will be departing the club on a free transfer this summer.
The Dane has spent over a decade at Stamford Bridge, making a total of 161 appearances in all competitions since being signed as a 15-year-old.
Despite ongoing speculation regarding his future, the 26-year-old has remained as a first-team regular over the past 12 months, featuring on 33 occasions during 2021-22.
However, it has been known for a number of months that the centre-back would be leaving Stamford Bridge with Barcelona the likely destination.
As it stands, the Spanish giants have not confirmed the arrival of the Denmark international, potentially due to their ongoing financial issues.
Nevertheless, on Friday afternoon, Chelsea announced that Christensen would be ending his stay in West London, the player going with the club's best wishes.
Thank you, Andreas. 💙 pic.twitter.com/27VW5DsJo0
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 10, 2022
During his time at Chelsea, Christensen has won the Champions League, Europa League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup, while he was named as Chelsea's Young Player Of The Year in 2017-18.
Christensen is not the only player to have their exits confirmed, with Danny Drinkwater also on the list of squad members who will become free agents.
Despite costing £35m in 2017, Drinkwater has gone on to make just 23 appearances in all competitions, his last outing coming during the 2018 Community Shield.
The Englishman - now 32 years of age - has since made 48 league appearances during loan spells at Burnley, Aston Villa, Kasimpasa and Reading.
© Reuters
Chelsea have also revealed that they will be parting ways with Charly Musonda and Jake Clarke-Salter respectively.
Musonda has been plagued by injuries since initially making his senior debut in August 2017, the last of his seven appearances coming in the 4-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion on January 20, 2018.
Clarke-Salter's solitary Premier League outing for Chelsea came on April 2, 2016, but the defender has since gone on to have a productive career at numerous loan clubs.
The most recent of his six spells elsewhere were spent at Coventry City, where he made 29 appearances in the Championship last season.
