Chelsea have a fines system that’s manned by the supervisor and captains, and the listing of no-nos is pinged to their gamers’ group chat at the beginning of the season.
Late for coaching? That’s a tremendous. Late on a sport day? Oof, that’s a double tremendous, and sure, we’re speaking hundreds.
Marc Cucurella has by no means needed to pay such a penalty in his three years with Chelsea. Not for being late. Not for leaving his filthy socks in the midst of the changing-room flooring. Not for forgetting to modify his cell to silent mode when Enzo Maresca is conducting a workforce assembly.
Descriptions of the 26-year-old Spaniard, relayed to Mail Sport anonymously by his colleagues at their Cobham coaching floor this week, included how he’s ‘first in, final out’, ‘extremely diligent’, ‘bundles of power’, ‘probably the most likeable man within the constructing’, ‘misunderstood as a participant and individual’, and on the danger of successful him a brand new ‘Cucu Clock’ nickname, ‘at all times on time’.
That impeccable timing has helped Chelsea this season, with no Premier League defender having scored extra objectives than Cucurella after Maresca informed him to start out arriving within the field. They work on it in coaching, and it was his header from Reece James’ cross which secured a 1-0 win over Manchester United to arrange Sunday’s Champions League super-showdown with Nottingham Forest.
We’ll get to how he went from hated to rated as Chelsea’s chief menace for that Champions League decider on the Metropolis Floor, however first, you can’t pen a profile piece on Cucurella with out masking the plain: the hair. He’s the footballer you might establish solely from a silhouette, as possible as anybody to safe a shampoo sponsorship as a facet hustle.
Marc Cucurella celebrates after scoring the winner to beat Manchester United final week and arrange a final-day Champions League shootout
The Spaniard has by no means needed to pay a tremendous in his three years at Chelsea since leaving Brighton
There’s a cute motive for his flopping mop past it being a curly homage to his Spanish idol Carles Puyol
But there’s a cute motive for his flopping mop past it being a curly homage to his Spanish idol Carles Puyol. Cucurella grew his hair by request of his mom, Patricia, who wished a simple technique to spy him when she was watching him as a youth footballer for Espanyol after which Barcelona.
Clearly, the type caught, and the added bonus now’s it allows his three youngsters, Mateo, Rio and Bella, to simply spot him from the stands themselves. After his seven objectives this season, they’ve gotten used to seeing papi performing his penguin celebration, devoted to them and his different half, Claudia Rodriguez, after Cucurella as soon as learn that they choose one companion for all times.
As a pair, they’re a workforce and the celebrities of the Amazon Prime present Married to the Recreation, a programme by which they’ve spoken overtly and thru tears of the challenges they confronted after relocating to London following Cucurella’s £63million transfer from Brighton in August 2022.
Mateo, their eldest little one at 5 years previous, was recognized with autism and it took time for his dad and mom to search out the right faculty by which he may thrive. Fortunately, they now have, and Cucurella says there isn’t any satisfaction fairly like seeing Mateo make progress.
There was additionally the night time their new dwelling was burgled. The household misplaced round £62,000 value of products within the break-in, however extra expensive than dropping some Louis Vuitton purses was it robbed them of their peace of thoughts, leaving Claudia Rodriguez afraid of sleeping alone along with her youngsters when her husband was out of the home. They elevated their safety after that incident.
The vacations to Disneyland Paris, the common rewatching of their favorite movie The Lion King, the pranks performed on each other – the Cucurella household is considered one of love. The Spaniard himself will be one thing of a giant child, travelling along with his Nintendo Change on the Chelsea workforce bus and needing no second invitation to let you know why John Cena is such a legend of wrestling.
These had been testing instances for him personally, nonetheless, and professionally, all this coincided with Cucurella’s soccer faltering as his 2022-23 marketing campaign noticed supporters liken him to Sideshow Bob.
Manchester Metropolis had been additionally in talks to signal him at the beginning of that season, however phrase is that they informed their Brighton counterparts they’d congratulate them on the subsequent Premier League board assembly in the event that they managed to safe greater than £50m for his or her asset.
Cucurella and his companion Claudia Rodriguez are stars of the Amazon Prime present Married to the Recreation
Cucurella spoke overtly and thru tears of the challenges that he and Rodriguez have confronted
Manchester Metropolis informed Brighton that they’d by no means get £50m for his or her left again
The story goes that Cucurella’s camp then missed two cellphone calls from an unknown quantity. A textual content adopted, and it was Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly, inviting them to his villa on the Greek island of Mykonos. An settlement value £56m rising to £63m with Brighton adopted, however Thomas Tuchel was sacked inside 5 weeks of Cucurella signing for Chelsea.
Tuchel’s substitute, Graham Potter, tried utilizing him as a 3rd centre again, which led to him being hooked at half-time versus Aston Villa and after solely 36 minutes in opposition to Manchester United in October 2022.
Chelsea followers booed his introduction as an alternative in a Champions League loss to Borussia Dortmund that very same season. Cucurella likes watching again his performances for evaluation functions, and presumably muted that footage.
‘That was extremely powerful on him,’ says one supply who was on the membership on the time, not least as he had his personal points away from the general public sphere. He was linked with a mortgage to Manchester United however no settlement could possibly be reached financially after a £2m proposal was submitted by their Premier League rivals and rejected.
Cucurella stayed, however Potter’s successor, Mauricio Pochettino, most well-liked utilizing a centre again, Levi Colwill, at left again over him. A turning level arrived in a visit to Aston Villa in April 2024. Trailing 2-0 at half-time, with Cucurella having scored an personal objective, Pochettino made a tactical tweak. He informed Cucurella to invert into midfield for the second half, Chelsea got here again to attract 2-2, after which received their subsequent 5 video games to qualify for Europe.
Earlier than that summer time’s European Championship, Gary Neville recommended Cucurella was a motive why Spain wouldn’t win the event. However then? Then, they did. Then, the memes began, mocking up Roberto Carlos along with his personal bushy barnet. Then, he returned to Chelsea, snapping into challenges and winding up opponents for enjoyable and successful over his critics. Then, supporters sang his identify, chanting that he ‘eats paella’, ‘drinks Estrella’ and his ‘hair is f***ing large’.
That is still a favorite track at Stamford Bridge, with Cucurella all of the sudden thought-about properly value his £63m payment and now not seen as a determine of their supposed obsession with Brighton.
He’s significantly shut with Enzo Fernandez – one other who has needed to present defiance in successful over his critics since signing for £106.8m – with the Spanish audio system within the Chelsea squad all having their very own group chat on the go.
Cucurella hit again at Gary Neville after defying the presenter’s prediction that he would value Spain a shot at Euro 2024 glory
Chelsea followers booed his introduction as an alternative in a Champions League loss to Borussia Dortmund in 2023
He’s significantly shut with Enzo Fernandez – one other who has needed to present defiance in successful over his critics since signing for £106.8m
Cucurella and Fernandez are comparable in that they’re each good at getting below opponents’ skins with neither afraid of being annoying. That needle is required, with Maresca managing the youngest facet within the Premier League and never wanting them to be seen as naive pushovers by rivals.
It was following final Friday’s dwelling victory over Manchester United that Cucurella was grabbed by the membership’s different co-owner Behdad Eghbali as he approached the tunnel. Eghbali is determined for a return to the Champions League subsequent season, and his headed objective was essential. The Blues hierarchy are appreciative of the job he’s doing, and as soon as this summer time’s Membership World Cup is over, there’s a plan to guage who’s worthy of a contract bump among the many gamers.
Moises Caicedo is in direction of the highest of the listing after being named each the gamers’ and supporters’ participant of the season, however you believe you studied Cucurella shouldn’t be lagging too far behind. Some on the membership say he would even have been a worthy winner of these awards, significantly as no one has scored extra objectives for Chelsea in 2025 than their left again.
Chances are high the Metropolis Floor will jeer Cucurella tomorrow as a result of all they see is a wacky-haired wind-up. However there shall be no boos from the Chelsea away finish. Solely celebrations if their new cult hero can put in one other efficiency which takes them again to the Champions League.
