Arrived at Chelsea last summer on the last day of the transfer window, Saul Niguez did not have the expected debut with the Blues. Worse than that, the Spanish international had a hard time getting used to life and English football, to the point of being used very little by Thomas Tuchel, including when the London workforce was decimated by Covid cases. . In an interview with the official Chelsea website, Saul returned to his complicated beginnings in England.
“I needed to get my head out of the Atlético universe”
“The beginnings were not easy for me. I changed my whole life, moving from Madrid, leaving Madrid with my family, changing language and culture, even the little things like driving on the other side of the road. Everything has changed: the stadium, the team-mates, my whole life. The truth is that it has not been easy, but I am very grateful to my team-mates and to the club for facilitating my adaptation. My English improves and everything becomes a little easier“explained the former midfielder of Atlético Madrid.
Not to miss
Chelsea dreams of Eder Militao
“Personally, I would have liked to play more, but I also understand that this team won the Champions League last season, so it’s complicated to get into the team. I feel good and better every day, ready for when the coach needs me. In my first match, I was a bit confused because I was used to doing things differently and it was strange for me. I really want to show what a player I am and give back the trust they placed in me”, Saul added.
Spain-England, the clash of cultures
The Spanish midfielder confessed that he needed to leave his training club where everything was becoming heavy for him: “I needed to get my head out of the Atlético de Madrid universe for a while, because I’ve been here since I was 12 and everything affects me a lot more. If you get whistled by the fans, it affects you much more because these people are yours and when you go through difficult times, you experience them in a different way”.
Atlético Madrid: An important comeback before Barça
Saul compared La Liga and the Premier League as well as these different coaches: “In Spain it’s a lot more tactical, whereas here it’s more physical and a bit crazier. There’s more back and forth, less about controlling the game and more about entertaining the fans. You can do things here that you can’t really do in La Liga. For example, the other day I was talking to my friends about Eden Hazard. When he was here he was easily one of the best players in the world, then he goes to LaLiga and he has his own struggles because it’s a totally different game. Here he had more one-on-one and two-on-one but in La Liga, as everyone knows how good his team is and how good he is, the teams make it much more difficult for him.”
