- Conor Gallagher was a second-half substitute as Atletico Madrid beat RB Leipzig
- He posed with Chelsea academy players after they had come to watch him play
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Conor Gallagher has been pictured with Chelsea youth players just month after his departure from the Blues.
The 24-year-old joined Atletico Madrid last month in a £34million deal which brought an end to his 18 years in west london.
Gallagher was a second-half substitute for Atletico as they opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over RB Leipzig on Thursday night.
And afterwards, he was pictured all smiles alongside a number of youngsters from Chelsea’s academy who stopped by to watch the midfielder having travelled to Spain for the Madrid Football Cup.
‘Great to see some of the academy boys in Madrid. Appreciate you coming to watch me and the team last night. Good luck in the tournament’, Gallagher posted on Instagram.
Gallaghern penned a five-year deal at Atletico as he sealed a move from boyhood club Chelsea this summer.
In a protracted saga, his transfer initially stalled after he agreed personal terms when the Blues’ move for Atletico’s Samu Omorodion fell apart.
Gallagher returned to Cobham to train on his own and nervously wait to see if the deal would conclude.
With Enzo Maresca’s side bringing in Joao Felix from Atletico for £42.7m, he was eventually able to make the switch to the Spanish capital.
Gallagher scored his first goal for Atletico in their win over 3-0 win over Valeencia and he’s relishing the chance to impress in Madrid.
‘I’ve felt very wanted and appreciated, which is important for any footballer. Chelsea are a huge football club, one of the biggest in the world, along with Atletico,’ the former Crystal Palace loanee told The Athletic.
‘But I have taken that exciting step of playing Champions League football and challenging for trophies. It just builds me with even more confidence and happiness to play my best football. It was just (being) full of excitement to be joining Atletico.
‘When I look back at my memories at Chelsea, I’m very proud and honoured to play for the club. It was time to move on and Atletico is the perfect club to make the next chapter in my career. I feel very lucky and fortunate to be in this position.’
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