Willy Caballero will depart Chelsea after four years at Stamford Bridge when his contract expires at the end of this month.
The Argentine international joined the Blues from Manchester City in 2017 to add further competition alongside fellow goalkeepers Thibaut Courtois and Eduardo, bringing a wealth of experience, and soon became a well-respected and hugely popular member of the squad.
In total, Caballero made 38 appearances in a Chelsea shirt – including 11 in the Premier League and last season’s FA Cup final – while keeping 14 clean sheets and earning winner’s medals in three different competitions.
Caballero helped us to win the FA Cup and Europa League before having his contract extended for the 2020/21 season, meaning he saved the best for last as he was among our substitutes when we defeated Manchester City in Porto to lift the Champions League trophy.
Caballero’s greatest contribution to Chelsea’s success during his four years at the Bridge came in his first season here. He became our regular cup goalkeeper in that campaign and, after making his debut in a 5-1 Carabao Cup thrashing of Nottingham Forest, started every game up to the final in that victorious FA Cup run.
He conceded just two goals in those six FA Cup matches and was instrumental in getting us over the first hurdle, as he kept a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw away at Norwich City and then became the hero of the penalty shoot-out in the replay by saving Nelson Oliveira’s spot kick.
In his second season with Chelsea, Caballero provided competition for Kepa Arrizabalaga, with the highlights including a clean sheet in an important Premier League home win over Tottenham and two appearances in the Europa League as we won that tournament.
The goalkeeper also played an important part in helping us secure a top-four finish in the Premier League in 2019/20, when he was handed a run of five consecutive starts in February by Frank Lampard prior to the suspension of football due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He returned to the starting line-up at the end of the season, playing in the FA Cup semi-final and final, both legs of the Champions League last-16 tie with Bayern Munich and, crucially, the 2-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on the last day of the league campaign which secured fourth spot in the table.
At the beginning of 2020/21, the 39-year-old started our 6-0 Carabao Cup win over Barnsley and the 3-3 league draw at West Bromwich Albion, but with the arrival of Edouard Mendy alongside Kepa, the latter of those games would be his final appearance for Chelsea.
Fellow goalkeeper Jamal Blackman is also leaving the club at the end of his contract. Blackman has been at Chelsea since joining our Academy at the age of 12 and was an ever-present in our FA Youth Cup-winning side of 2012.
That same year he was part of the Blues squad which travelled to Munich for our maiden Champions League triumph. The 27-year-old did not make a senior appearance for Chelsea, having spent several seasons out on loan, most recently playing 26 games in the Championship for Rotherham United.
Everyone at the club thanks Willy and Jamal for their work at Chelsea and wishes them well for the future.
