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Fans have reacted hilariously on Twitter after spotting Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko at San Siro for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals against Inter Milan.
The French midfielder has been at Chelsea since signing from AS Monaco in the summer of 2017. He has since been sent out on four separate loan spells and is currently in the last two months of his two-season-long loan at AC Milan.
Bakayoko also played for AC Milan temporarily in the 2018-19 season. Overall, he has played 63 times across competitions for I Rossoneri, with only three of those appearances coming this season.
Bakayoko, alongside Ciprian Tatarusanu and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, was one of the few names completely excluded from AC Milan's Champions League squad in September, via SempreMilan.
Bakayoko's last appearance in a Chelsea shirt came in the FA Cup final in a 1-0 win against Manchester United in May 2018. The Blues faithful can't be blamed if they have forgotten that the Frenchman is still on the club's books.
Some of them were surprised to see Bakayoko seated alongside the injured Rafael Leao in the stands at San Siro earlier today (May 10).
One tweeted:
"The other bro still plays football?"
Another added:
"ESPN don't even know Bakayoko Bro fell off so hard 😭"
Despite being on Chelsea's books for almost eight years, the 28-year-old midfielder has only made 43 appearances for them across competitions. According to a report from TalkSPORT in January, his contract at San Siro contains a conditional buy-clause.
Milan are obliged to sign Bakayoko for £13 million if he plays at least 45 minutes in 15 matches this season. He has played just 39 minutes for them this term across three league appearances.
What Frank Lampard said after Chelsea's Champions League exit
Chelsea's caretaker manager Frank Lampard said that the Blues 'will be back' after their Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid in April.
Los Blancos won both legs of the quarterfinals by a 2-0 margin (4-0 aggregate) and were barely ever taken out of their comfort zone throughout the 180 minutes. After the second leg, Lampard told reporters, via Sportstar:
"This club is going to be back. I think the fans appreciated the performance today and we have to latch onto that and go again next year. Manchester United have spent time out (of the Champions League), Arsenal have spent time out."
Arsenal last played in the Champions League in the 2016-17 season. Manchester United, however, haven't missed consecutive seasons of Champions League football in the Premier League era.
The Blues, meanwhile, will not play in Europe next season. They are 12th with just 42 points from 34 Premier League games this term.
