The disgusting notion that the Chelsea captaincy should be switched

It is surely just a poorly translated rumor, but the entire notion that Cesar Azpilicueta should lose his Chelsea captaincy to Thiago Silva is disgusting.

Cesar Azpilicueta has been with Chelsea for eight seasons, entering his ninth. He has been the Chelsea captain since Gary Cahill’s departure at the end of the 2019/2020 season. Effectively, since Cahill barely played in his last season, Azpilicueta was captain for even longer than that.

In his time at Chelsea he has been nothing short of a model professional. He has been arguably the most consistent over the last decade. There has never been a murmur that he was trying to leave the club or even a hint of anything untoward going on behind the scenes. Azpilicueta shows up, gets to work as best he can, and ensures others do the same.

The outgoing Paris Saint-Germain captain, Thiago Silva, is all but signed. A report, which surely must be a mistranslation because it is simply too ridiculous to be real, has broken out that Silva would be made captain and Azpilicueta demoted to vice-captain. The mere fact that this rumor exists is gross. The fact fans are seriously discussing it as if it had merit is disgusting. And if he were to be true? It would be absolutely abhorrent behavior by the club.

Stripping a player of their captaincy should only ever happen in two circumstances. The first is they have done something heinous on or off the field that puts into serious doubt their character. The second is if the incoming player is so clearly more experienced than the current captain that it has to be an obvious switch.

This may come as a shock, but Silva is not that vastly more experienced player. Yes, he has experience, but this gulf being mentioned would be something like Lionel Messi joining Inter Miami. A true megastar (past or present) to a minnow. Not from one big European club to another.

To take a player’s captaincy away for any other reason is disrespectful at its mildest and disgusting beyond that. Azpilicueta did not bleed blue for eight seasons only to be swatted aside by Silva. It does not even matter who ultimately makes the decision (in this hypothetical situation). It is the wrong decision and it should put into serious doubt that decision maker’s ability to continue in their current capacity.

Yes, no matter who that person is. If Marina Granovskaia or any board member is intervening in the club in a way that involves dangling the armband in negotiations, they should no longer be allowed to negotiate. Even if it is Frank Lampard himself making this decision, legend that he may be, it should raise alarm bells about his relationship with the squad.

And if it is Silva himself saying he needs the armband to lead at Chelsea or even to sign for Chelsea, then he simply should not be signed. Azpilicueta earned his armband. Silva did at his other clubs, but not Chelsea.

Luckily, this is surely a rumor that can be immediately trashed because there is virtually no way that the club would be so stupid and disrespectful to go through with it. Azpilicueta is the captain. End of. Silva can still be a leader, but the only way he gets the armband is if he outlasts Azpilicueta’s stay at the club.