Barca-bound Christensen stood himself down from Cup final

Andreas Christensen stood himself down from selection for Chelsea's FA Cup final, opting not to play in the showpiece final despite not being injured.

Christensen was not involved in the match squad for Saturday's 6-5 penalty shoot-out loss to Liverpool, but it is understood the Denmark defender was not injured.

Thiago Silva played through the pain of a knee problem sustained during the punishing Wembley clash, with Malang Sarr and Cesar Azpilicueta the Blues' defensive options on the bench.

Christensen is understood to be poised to complete a free-transfer switch to Barcelona when the season finishes, bringing to an end a decade at Stamford Bridge.

The 26-year-old has battled a number of minor injury and illness issues in recent weeks, but his withdrawal from Saturday's crunch clash left the Blues short handed.

Chelsea host Leicester on Thursday and Watford on Sunday in a bid to close out a third-placed Premier League finish, with Christensen's availability now uncertain.

The 54-cap centre-back can still have the chance to add a final word to his Chelsea career, but his absence on Saturday proved a surprise given his lack of injury.

Chelsea lost to Liverpool on penalties after a goalless 90 minutes and extra-time in the second domestic cup final of the season.

The Blues were edged out 11-10 in the Carabao Cup final in February and have now been left to taste defeat at the hands of the Reds again.

Todd Boehly is primed to complete his £4.25billion takeover of Chelsea, but while the summer should yield a number of new playing arrivals at Stamford Bridge, manager Thomas Tuchel admitted a sizeable gap still remains on second-placed Liverpool.

Toni Rudiger will join Real Madrid, to add to Christensen's impending Barcelona switch.

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