Chelsea’s genius £6.5m Club World Cup action cements legacy Marina Granovskaia cannot let slip

£6.5 million. That was the initial fee Chelsea paid to Marseille in August 2012 for Cesar Azpilicueta.

In a summer that was dominated by the capture of a young Belgian wizard named Eden Hazard and a Brazilian star called Oscar, the fullback was deemed a bit of an afterthought.

The club's shop quickly sold t-shirts proclaiming Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata as "The Three Amigos". The gold that dominated that season's home-shirt was a constant reminder of the cinematic triumph the previous May in Munich.

Azpilicueta was viewed as a backup to Branislav Ivanovic, maybe one day a competent successor, but no one would have predicted he would go on to lift Chelsea's second Champions League crown deemed an undisputed legend.

It felt very symbolic that Azpilicueta held onto the ball in the moments before Chelsea's decisive penalty in Abu Dhabi. The penalty would likely decide if the 32-year-old was to complete a grand slam of honours.

It was not that wild to assume he would be taking it, given Jorginho not being on the field and his own record in shootouts for Chelsea down the years.

But instead, he passed it off to Kai Havertz who would assume responsibility as angered Palmeiras heads desperately tried to delay their nightmare.

Kai made no mistake and Azpilicueta would have his dream completed.

"When I arrived in 2012 I couldn't imagine the journey I would go on," the defender said after the final win.

"I'm really proud to be the Chelsea captain, leading the club on and off the pitch. This title feels very good because it's the first time in our history. The club deserves it, the owner deserves it and I'm proud we achieved it."

There are not enough superlatives to describe how phenomenal a signing Azpilicueta has been for