Defender · #29
Pep Chavarría
Spain · 5'9" · 28
His role
Chavarría covers the whole left side. He can start as the left-back in a four or replace the wing-back in a three, giving Chelsea an overlapping runner who can still recover into the defensive line.
His story
- 01Record
He started in the fifth tier of Spanish football
Chavarría made his senior debut at eighteen for Figueres, his hometown club, in Spain's fifth tier. Olot led to Zaragoza, Zaragoza to Rayo Vallecano and Rayo all the way to a European final. Chelsea eventually paid £16.3m for a left-back who spent his early twenties in leagues that were rarely televised.
- 02Drama
He lost a European final to a teammate
Rayo Vallecano reached the 2026 Conference League final and lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace. Maxence Lacroix played the entire match for the winners, directly opposite Chavarría's disappointment. Chelsea signed both defenders that summer, so the man who won the final and the man who lost it now train together every morning.
- 03Off the pitch
Catalonia, and a very long way round
Chavarría was born in Figueres, Salvador Dalí's hometown in northern Catalonia. He developed at the local club rather than entering the systems at Barcelona or Espanyol, which meant climbing the divisions one move at a time. He was 28 by the time that route finally reached the Premier League.
Career
Rayo Vallecano2022–2025
Chelsea2026–
