Conor Gallagher has made a heart-warming gesture to show he is still Chelsea through and through despite being pushed out of the club this summer. The England international now earns his living with Atletico Madrid and he has made a positive start to life in La Liga.
Gallagher is a starter under Diego Simeone and he has already opened his Atleti account courtesy of a well-taken goal against Valencia last weekend.
The 24-year-old reiterated his love for boyhood club Chelsea again and again before the club cashed in on him during the transfer window. And he was forced to train separately while the Blues and Atletico thrashed out the final details of his £34million move.
A recent social media post shows that Gallagher harbours no bitterness towards the club who took him in as a schoolboy and trained him up in their academy.
Taking time out of his new life in the Spanish capital, Gallagher turned out to watch Chelsea’s Under-14s in a tournament taking place in Madrid this week. He then posed for pictures with the youngsters and posted a heartfelt message on Instagram.
“Great to see some of the academy boys in Madrid,” Gallagher wrote. “Appreciate you coming to watch me and the team last night [heart emoji]. Good luck in the tournament [thumbs up].”
Gallagher was a Chelsea regular under Mauricio Pochettino last season and regularly captained the side in the absence of Reece James and Ben Chilwell. But the Blues felt compelled to sell their academy product in order to comply with Profit and Sustainability Rules.
In spite of being pushed to depart the club he ‘loves’, Gallagher is feeling positive about this new stage of his career and welcomes the chance to play Champions League football while Chelsea tackle the Europa Conference League.
“I’ve felt very wanted and appreciated, which is important for any footballer,” he said. “Chelsea are a huge football club, one of the biggest in the world, along with Atletico, but I have taken that exciting step of playing Champions League football and challenging for trophies.
“It just builds me with even more confidence and happiness to play my best football. I’m really happy to be here and I’m settling in well. I’ve loved my first few weeks. I knew Atletico was always a massive club, a top club in La Liga and doing well in the Champions League, so I was excited to join.”
