‘I called my mum and dad and told them I wanted to come back to Ecuador’
Moises Caicedo admitted that he wanted to leave England before he had even begun his career.
Caicedo signed for Chelsea this summer in a deal that was worth £115m – a British transfer record.
Before that the 22-year-old joined Brighton and Hove Albion in January 2021 and due to covid restrictions at the time, was forced to stay in a hotel for 10 days to self-isolate.
At the time, he admitted that he found the weather, food and time zone so different that he called his parents begging to go home.
“It was really tough, because I came here on my own, without my family. I didn’t know English, it was a different time zone, different food… the weather is so different! It was really tough for me,” he told the Chelsea website.
“I came here when Covid was blowing up, and before I could go out in England I had to stay for 10 days in a hotel. I didn’t meet my team-mates. I cried every day in that hotel. I called my mum and dad and told them I wanted to come back to Ecuador because everything was so different and I didn’t want to be here.
“They said, ‘Son, you have to be strong. This is your dream. You prayed for this. So keep strong, keep praying, because God is everything in our life.’
“So, I started to do that. Every day, I kept praying and I started to feel better and better. Now I’m here at Chelsea, enjoying every game. It’s great to be here, to be part of this amazing club.”
After a short loan spell in Belgium, Caicedo returned to Brighton, where he established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League.
A highly impressive showing in the 2022 World Cup for Ecuador sparked plenty of interest in January however he signed a new deal at the Amex Stadium that month before moving to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
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