Marc Cucurella on Chelsea's UEFA Conference League dream and staying positive
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
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"Coming out with a trophy would be really nice," said Chelsea's left-back as his side hope for a reward for a season of positive work in the UEFA Conference League final.
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Signed in 2022 after a great first season in England at Brighton, Marc Cucurella has become a fan favourite at Chelsea, and the left-back is eager to add some club silverware to his collection in the UEFA Conference League final against Real Betis.
The 26-year-old won UEFA EURO 2024 with Spain last summer, and after a positive campaign in the Premier League, is hoping to have something else to celebrate before the end of the season.
On moving to England to join Brighton
There's always that fear around changing countries. It's another culture and another language that you're not fluent in. But once I arrived at Brighton, we enjoyed it and had a great time. The football is different and so is the atmosphere in the stadiums – the stadiums are always sold out. Everyone is waiting all week for the game to go to the ground. It's a great experience. I'm happy here.
When I arrived at Brighton, I didn't speak very much [English]. And I only had Alexis [Mac Allister], and Robert Sánchez who spoke Spanish. So, I had to learn to speak with my team-mates and understand the manager – that helped a lot. Also, we had to take classes. And I was embarrassed when I had to speak, or when I made mistakes. So, I practiced a lot and I was pretty bad, but they kept on correcting me, teaching me, and in the end, you learn.
On winning EURO 2024 with Spain
It was my first trophy and when you win a trophy, you want more and it whets your appetite to win more trophies. And then you obviously play with that motivation and that ambition where you say: 'I'm a champion and I didn't just get lucky, it's because we deserved it. We had a great tournament and I was playing and helping the team.' So, you feel more confident, and I think that's really important in football, and this year it's going well for me personally, and hopefully we can finish the season on a high.
Marc Cucurella on his outlook on life
On excitement around the Conference League final
For a lot of us, it's going to be their first final – the first European trophy we could win – so, this year, things are going well, but there are always difficult moments and I think coming out with a trophy would be really nice, and then Chelsea could be the first club to win all the [European] trophies. That would be a great way to end the year – a year that I think has been very good for us and where we've worked really hard, so it could end really nicely.
On his hair
It all started when I was a child, because my family liked it and my mum liked me having it like this. So, that's how I was raised, and, obviously, when I grew up, everyone could recognise me and they would say: 'Look at his hair.' And now I think it's part of who I am – it's my brand really, and it's my way of standing out from the crowd. And so far, I've been really happy with it, so hopefully I don't have any problems and have to cut it.
On his approach to life
I like to make lots of jokes and make sure everyone around me is having a good time and enjoying themselves. And I think that makes a difference to the team, because they know I'm always full of joy and energy and that makes people like you as a player, so all my team-mates appreciate me. So, I'm really happy to do my bit, because I think it's really important to be happy off the pitch so you can then do well on it.