6 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT RUBEN LOFTUS‑CHEEK

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been a Rossonero for a few days. The English midfielder joined AC Milan from Chelsea and is ready to wear our shirt in the coming seasons. Before he takes to the pitch, let’s get to know him better with some fun facts.

FOLLOWING IN JOHN TERRY'S FOOTSTEPS
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was born in 1996, joined Chelsea's thriving Academy at the age of eight. He debuted for the Blues' U18 side when he was just 14 and, following his first senior goal in 2016 (in the FA Cup), became just the third Chelsea player to find the net for the first team after having arrived at the club before the age of 15. Before him, only Blues legend John Terry and striker Carlton Cole had done the same.

FOOTBALL IN HIS BLOOD
Ruben's mother is British, and his father is Guyanese, with the latter having migrated to the United Kingdom with his three sons before the new AC Milan man was born. Two of these sons played football. Here, we're referring to Carl Cort, who wore the shirts of Lincoln City, Newcastle United, Wimbledon, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Marbella, Leicester City and Norwich City during his career, and his brother Leon Cort, who, among others, took to the pitch for Charlton, Stoke City, Hull City, Crystal Palace, Burnley and Preston North End.

TOMORI AND THE YOUTH LEAGUE
At AC Milan, he'll once again be teammates with Fikayo Tomori, with whom he shares great memories from his youth days at Chelsea. Together, they won the 2014/15 UEFA Youth League, with Fik winning the same competition with the Blues the following campaign. They were then both part of the first-team setup at Chelsea together (along with Giroud), and now they'll be sharing another changing room - the one at Milanello.

A PASSION FOR TENNIS
Ruben has never hidden his great passion for tennis. In 2022, he told Chelsea's official channels all about it and mentioned his friendship with Andy Murray. He met the Scotsman during the last Laver Cup in London (September 2022), but he'd already been to Surbiton in the British capital the previous summer to watch Murray train.

WEARING THE NO.10 FOR ENGLAND
The eyes of English football fans were very much on him on 10 November 2017, when he made his England debut. At the age of 21, he took the field against Germany with the No.10 on his back and fared brilliantly against the likes of Gündogan and Özil, winning the Man of the Match award. At the time a Crystal Palace player (on loan), he became the first Eagles player to start for England since Geoff Thomas did so in February 1992.

DESTINED FOR SERIE A
During his professional career, Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been coached by several figures who know Serie A well. At Chelsea, he played under Maurizio Sarri, Antonio Conte and José Mourinho, while he was by Frank de Boer and then Roy Hodgson during his loan spell at Crystal Palace. Interestingly, his first 29 Premier League appearances came under five different coaches: Mourinho, Hiddink, Conte, de Boer and Hodgson.

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