Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel says he has three leaders at Stamford Bridge and none more iconic than Cesar Azpilicueta.
Azpilicueta became the club captain after Gary Cahill departed in 2019 with the Spaniard becoming a fine servant for the club since his move from Marseille in 2012.
The full-back has racked up more than 400 appearances for Chelsea across all competitions, and he recently returned to the fold after Tuchel's arrival, forming part of the back three after largely becoming Reece James' deputy at right-back under Frank Lampard.
And Tuchel has been speaking about Azpilicueta and his undeniable influence on the squad behind the scenes, along with other senior members of the Blues squad.
"I believe strongly in the power of captains," said Tuchel on Friday. "I was lucky to have Thiago as my captain in Paris. Now I have Azpi, with Thiago, with Jorgi, you cannot wish for more.
"Azpi is like Frank Lampard before, like John Terry before. He resembles everything that is Chelsea."
Lampard and Terry proved to be some of the best signings in Chelsea history, and Azpilicueta is very much in that territory having signed for only £7million more than eight years ago.
He has since gone on to win two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, League Cup and two Europa League titles, and he is still going strong at 31, starting all of Chelsea's last five Premier League outings.
Though, the veteran defender is out of contract in 2022, so it will be interesting to see if Chelsea opt to renew that deal ahead of next season now that he is favoured under Tuchel.
Azpilicueta will also be hoping to be part of the Spain squad fr Euro 2020, which takes place this summer, despite only usually serving as Dani Carvajal's back-up at right-back.
