Chelsea could lose yet another defender after another one of their stars confirmed his desire to leave Stamford Bridge.
After six trophy-laden years with the Blues, Marcos Alonso has confirmed his wish to return to his native Spain.
The left-back is entering the final 12 final months of his current deal in west London, and reports over the past couple of months have linked the 31-year-old with a move to Barcelona.
Alonso, a Real Madrid academy graduate, is yet to play top-flight football in Spain, with the Madrid native having gone through Los Blancos' youth ranks before moving to Bolton Wanderers in 2010.
Since then, he has had spells with Fiorentina and Sunderland, before his €23 million (R378 million) move to the Blues.
The defender has seen his role diminish in recent seasons since the departure of Antonio Conte from Chelsea, with the Spain international now deputising for first-choice left-back Ben Chilwell when the Englishman is fit.
While Alonso has admitted he has nothing to complain about at Chelsea, he is relishing the opportunity for a different challenge at this stage in his career.
"I've played 50 games, we've been world champions, we've had bad luck in the cup finals.
"I can't complain about anything at Chelsea but the desire to play in Spain is there. It doesn't depend entirely on me and I'm happy at Chelsea, I'm sincere."
Perhaps the prolific defender wishes to emulate his grandfather and father, both also named Marcos Alonso. His grandfather played for Los Blancos for eight years, while his father played for the Catalan giants for five years.
