Inside the eight-year journey that made Moises Caicedo Chelsea’s unassuming superstar
08 November 2024 9:01am GMT
In the basement restaurant of a swanky establishment in London’s Sloane Square, the table rose to welcome Moisés Caicedo, who had just scored his first Chelsea goal in the final game of the Premier League season.
All of Caicedo’s friends and associates present had his spectacular strike from the halfway line against Bournemouth ready on their phones to replay to him as they congratulated him on a stunning end to the 2023-24 campaign.
There were warm embraces and handshakes, but Caicedo, dressed in a Chelsea tracksuit, is said to have been bashful in the way he accepted the acclaim and appeared far more comfortable when the table returned to their seats, the food arrived and attention turned from him. While most of the guests sipped expensive cocktails, he nursed a glass of water.
That sums up Caicedo, Chelsea’s unassuming superstar. He would have been similarly reluctant to show off about his second goal for the club that was almost as spectacular as his first – a volley in last Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United that came a day after his 23rd birthday.
Caicedo and his long-term girlfriend Paola Salazar are expecting their first child later this month, and it is family, rather than fame and fortune, that is at the forefront of his mind.
Those who worked with N’Golo Kanté at Chelsea see similarities in the character of Caicedo and believe the club once again have one of the best midfielders in the world – thanks in part to a tip-off from former Manchester United and Wigan Athletic winger Antonio Valencia.
Chelsea’s sporting director Paul Winstanley and director of global recruitment Sam Jewell were working together at Brighton and scouting players in Ecuador when Winstanley got the call from Valencia to go and watch a 15-year-old named Caicedo.
Winstanley knew Valencia from their time together at Wigan and he and Jewell made regular trips to Ecuador to watch Caicedo and get to know him after following up on the recommendation.
It was in February 2021 that Winstanley and Jewell signed Caicedo for Brighton, but the player’s path to the Premier League was anything but smooth.
As a teenager, Caicedo had worried that he may never get a chance to show off his talent. Promising performances for local team Colorados Jaipadida, whom he joined as a 13-year-old, earned him a trial at professional club Mushuc Runa. But that was cancelled after a week because Caicedo and his family were unable to pay for food or board.
Then, a year after successfully passing a trial at Independiente del Valle, Caicedo suffered a ruptured cruciate knee ligament in 2017 that required a number of surgeries and left him fearing that he may never play football again.
Once at Brighton, Caicedo initially struggled with the language and was so unhappy at being sent on loan to Belgian club Beerschot that he made tearful calls to friends, family and colleagues saying that he wanted to give up on his dream and return to Ecuador.
But, the youngest of 10 siblings described by friends as a ‘favela boy’ in recognition of his poor upbringing in Santo Domingo, where goals were marked out by piles of stones and his football boots were paid for by a local coach, Caicedo is used to having to do things the hard way.
He got through the Beerschot loan, which he still does not look back on with much fondness, and undertook an English course provided by Brighton that finally helped him to acclimatise. He remains in contact with his teacher, known simply as Matt, who he still invites to Chelsea games.
An injury to Yves Bissouma at the end of the 2021-22 season gave Caicedo his big chance and he grasped it so firmly that Brighton agreed to sell Bissouma to Tottenham Hotspur that summer and Caicedo was made a first-team regular.