The timing of Noni Madueke’s £52million move to Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal was ‘strange’, according to Marc Cucurella.
The Spaniard was baffled by his ex-team-mate deciding to jump ship while his side were on the cusp of silverware at the Club World Cup.
Enzo Maresca’s men went on to triumph at the tournament in the US, battering a much-fancied PSG side in the final.
Madueke, 23, could have had his hands on a winner’s medal but opted to leave camp to finalise his transfer to the Gunners rather than delay it.
Cucurella was asked if that decision struck him as a strange one when speaking to Gerard Moreno during a Q&A with youngsters at his academy in Spain.
He replied: ‘Yes, I think so. I think he missed a good opportunity (although) he wasn’t playing as a starter.
‘I do think it was because of everything that was happening regarding his future and in the end I think it could have delayed him a couple of days since he left a day early or something like that.
‘It wouldn’t have cost him anything to wait for that next day. In the end I think he missed a pretty good opportunity.’
Madueke was a major part of Chelsea’s success in the competition having featured in five of the six games for the Blues.
But he missed the crowning moment after deciding to leave before the final. Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer were the men deployed on the flanks in the 3-0 win.
Madueke was then announced as an Arsenal player at the end of last week on a five-year deal. He said: ‘Humbled and blessed to be here. Thank you to everyone that made this possible.
‘I can’t wait to get on the pitch and start to repay the faith shown in me. It’s going to be so special.’
Cucurella, meanwhile, has admitted he was ‘scared s***less’ by Donald Trump when the US president crashed Chelsea’s trophy lift.
He explained to Spanish journalist Romero: ‘We had been told that, as a rule, Donald Trump would come to present us with the trophy and that we couldn’t lift it until he left.
‘And of course, we were all there waiting for him to leave, but the guy didn’t want to leave, and on top of that, we looked at him and he said, “Get him up, I’ll stay here, and so on.”
‘And I wondered who would say anything to him, you know… I was scared s***less!’
It was anticipated that the Commander-in-Chief would step aside after giving the trophy to Chelsea captain James – as is customary.
However, to the bewilderment of many Chelsea players, Trump remained on stage for the entire trophy lift.
