Neil Warnock admits Azpilicueta judgement is clouded because of "bitterness"

Neil Warnock admits "bitterness" clouds his judgement of Cesar Azpilicueta after receiving an almighty backlash for criticising the Chelsea defender earlier this week.

The former Cardiff City and Sheffield United boss said he didn't think the 32-year-old was "a great defender" and suggested he'd been "lucky" to have had such an illustrious career.

After getting a bit of blowback from Chelsea supporters, as well as from Blues legend John Terry, Warnock clarified his position on talkSPORT, claiming what he meant to say was that Azpilicueta wasn't "the best" defender.

"I think he's an excellent wing back, I'm not sure he's a top class defender," the 73-year-old said, before admitting that a goal the Spaniard scored against his Cardiff side in 2019 – which should have been disallowed for offside – was still playing on his mind.

"Listen, I don't forgive him for being offside for that goal at Cardiff, that's what it is … it'll be the bitterness underneath," Warnock joked.

Following Thomas Tuchel's side's victory in the Club World Cup final on Saturday, Azpilicueta became the first player in Chelsea history to win every single major honour available to him.

Earlier in the week, Warnock took a swipe at the Chelsea skipper, insisting that his trophy haul was simply due to him being "in the right place at the right time".

Is Cesar Azpilicueta the most underrated defender in the Premier League? Let us know what you think in the comments section below…

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Chelsea supporters are unequivocal in their admiration for Azpilicueta, who signed for the club for just £7 million in 2012.

Despite being a natural right back, the versatile defender has starred in Premier League and Champions League-winning campaigns playing at left back and centre back, and has also found success in a wing back role under Tuchel over the last season-and-a-half.

Jose Mourinho once quipped that he could win it all with "11 Azpilicueta's" in his team, and after becoming the most widely-decorated player in Chelsea's history, it's hard not to see where he was coming from.

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