The story of Cole Palmer (23 years old) quickly reminded us of one of the most famous stories that Santiago Canizares lived during his career. The English striker and Spanish goalkeeper will miss a football event in… … Rising too much due to an unpleasant and inappropriate domestic accident. In the goalkeeper’s case, a dropped cologne bottle severed a tendon in one of his feet and forced him to undergo surgery, a last-minute misfortune that prevented him from attending the 2002 World Cup finals in Korea and Japan. An episode that, more than two decades later, has revived Chelsea’s lethal playmaker, who tonight will be in the stands and not on the grass of Stamford Bridge against Barcelona in one of the most attractive duels this season could see in the league stage of the Champions League.
“He had an accident at home in which he injured his toe. “He broke him,” Enzo Maresca, his coach, lamented in the introduction to last weekend’s Premier League match against Burnley. A break for the Blaugrana, although the London side could turn to the host of checkbook-recruited stars who feature in their squad to replace him.
With every step he takes on the turf, Cole Palmer, whose 23-year-old can’t shake his bad face, tells a story that goes beyond football. Not only does the talent that has made him FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Player of the Year shine in his boots, but he also flies the flag for St. Kitts and Nevis, the small Caribbean paradise that lives in his family’s history. The Chelsea playmaker is not just a revelation for English football, he is a symbol of character, roots and brave decisions. In each of his plays, you can see the hunger of someone who does not conform, a true talent that today would not be able to threaten Flick’s men.
Born in Manchester, amid the intense football rivalry that divides the city between the light blue and red, Palmer grew up dreaming of scoring at Old Trafford, but it was at the Etihad Stadium that he took his first steps. He trained as a child in the secondary divisions of Manchester City, the club to which he gave his childhood and adolescence until Guardiola gave him the opportunity in 2020 to make his debut for the first team.
However, in 2023, in one of those twists and turns that mark a great career, he chose something extraordinary: to leave his old club to sign for Chelsea, who in the 2023-24 season paid almost 50 million euros for him. At 21 years old, and wanting to take on the world, Guardiola did not guarantee him the continuity he demanded and chose to pack his bags, a move to which the Spanish coach had no objection. This radical decision by the player, despite initial doubts, marked the beginning of the real breakthrough for someone known as a generational signator.
The absence of the England international represents a severe blow to the Club World Cup champion, the team that achieved five consecutive victories in the English Premier League, which allowed it to place itself in second place in the standings. The pace, verticality and physicality of the Londoners, with former Barcelona player Cucurella now an idol for the fans, threaten Barcelona who cannot afford another European setback after the draw achieved in the last visit to Bruges. Palmer’s absence is a break, but more than one star shines in the Chelsea sky.