Saul Niguez has waved goodbye to Chelsea fans on social media following his troublesome season-long loan, admitting that 'things didn't start well at all' at Stamford Bridge.
Blues boss Thomas Tuchel lured Saul to the capital on deadline day last year ahead of a potential title challenge but rarely called upon the midfielder during his loan spell.
The Spaniard only started five Premier League games for Chelsea last campaign and featured just 10 times in total.
An unused substitute on 23 occasions, the majority of Saul's spell at Stamford Bridge was spent sitting on the bench.
In contrast, the 27-year-old was highly thought at Atletico Madrid, having made 340 appearances for the club.
Before joining Chelsea, he featured 33 times during Atletico's La Liga-winning campaign in 2020-21.
In his departing thank-you Instagram message to Chelsea on Tuesday, Saul confessed that leaving home was a real challenge, having played in Spain for his entire professional career to date.
'Hello blues, I’m writing to take my leave of you. I would like to tell you how I felt during this adventure,' he said.
'Things didn’t start well at all. After a long time at home, changing everything wasn’t easy. Little by little things got better.
'Everything in life serves to improve and learn, and that’s what I take from this adventure.
'I’d like to thank the club for trying to take care of every detail to make me feel at home. I’d also like to give recognition to each worker, thank you. Thank you for making this club much bigger.
'Thanks to all the fans for supporting me through thick and thin. I will be forever grateful. Thanks to all the staff for making it possible for me to win titles with the blue shirt.
'But above all, I wanted to thank my teammates. They have been fundamental so that I wouldn’t fall apart. They helped me to continue supporting the team and live a calm and positive day to day. Thank you!'