'I opened up my options, looked at the bigger picture'

England midfielder Conor Gallagher explains to Richard Jolly why he only has ‘good things to say’ about Chelsea after he was controversially sold by his boyhood club this summer

- Richard Jolly

Conor Gallagher never imagined playing abroad when he was younger. And why would he? He was, as the massive tifo supporters brought to Stamford Bridge last season read, “Chelsea since birth”. He was certainly Chelsea since he was six, since he started training with their academy. He was Chelsea when on loan at Charlton and Swansea, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace. He was Chelsea when he spent much of last season with the captain’s armband on, playing the most minutes.

So the surreal nature of his unveiling at Atletico Madrid was not merely that he was escorted on the pitch at the Metropolitano by motorbike riders amid fireworks and a light show, speaking his rudimentary Spanish to thousands of fans. It was the turn his career had taken. If Gallagher had felt an old-fashioned figure – the likeable local lad who endeared himself to fans by being one of them and with his conspicuous commitment – he instead, though no fault of his own, became emblematic of the 2024 game. He is the PSR footballer, the pure-profit player. His managers looked at Gallagher and saw a hard-working midfielder. Chelsea’s owners glimpsed a way to pass financial fair play amid their £1.3bn splurge. He turned into a one-man loophole.

If Chelsea’s desperation to sell Gallagher was a feature of the summer, there is the sense he has traded up. Rather than appearing in the Conference League with them, the Champions League beckons with Atletico. “I opened up my options and looked at the bigger picture,” Gallagher said. “It excited me as soon as I knew Atletico Madrid were interested.”