For months now, Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has been expected to join Barcelona.

The La Liga giants have made no secret of their desire to bring the 32-year-old to Camp Nou. However, La Blaugrana's perilous financial state reportedly means that they can't even register players they have already signed, let alone any further arrivals.

Barca's money woes have left Azpilicueta in limbo. With no imminent sign of a move to Catalonia in sight, the Blues defender has instead jetted off alongside his Chelsea teammates for their pre-season tour of the USA.

Per a report from The Sun, Xavi Hernandez's side were keen to get a deal done for the Spaniard before he left for North America.

They were unsuccessful, though, as Azpilicueta was seen training with the London club in a photo uploaded to Chelsea's official Twitter account on Sunday morning from Los Angeles.

Azpilicueta on tour with Chelsea tweet

Barcelona find themselves in an administrative nightmare right now but they've somehow found a way to complete a number of transfers over the last 12 months, despite being deeply in the red.

They'll be hoping for a similar outcome where Azpilicueta is concerned before they begin their 2022/23 La Liga campaign at home to Rayo Vallecano on August 13.

If the move is to happen, the player himself will naturally want as much time as possible to bed into his new surroundings before heading into competitive action.

Azpilicueta v Barcelona's Lionel Messi in 2018

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 20: Lionel Messi of Barcelona is challenged by Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 First Leg match between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge on February 20, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images,)

After 476 games for Chelsea over the last 10 seasons, Azpilicueta has become used to having the freedom to move down the right flank at will.

In fact, so comfortable had the veteran become with playing in a back five under Blues boss Thomas Tuchel, that he had an unfortunate brain fade while representing Spain last year - and his reaction to it was absolutely brilliant.

At Stamford Bridge, Azpilicueta was able to maraud forward, safe in the knowledge he had ample cover at the back in case his side got caught in possession.

Quiz: Can you guess the player from their Wikipedia career path?

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case when on duty with Luis Enrique's Spain side against Italy last year, where the Chelsea man was expected to operate in a traditional four-at-the-back formation.

No problem for a player of Azpilicueta's experience, of course, except for the fact he completely forgot that he wasn't playing in his club system.

Taking possession of the ball deep inside his own half, Azpilicueta burst past an Italian forward before laying the ball off to a teammate as he approached the half-way line.

Cesar Azpilicueta in action for Spain

BADAJOZ, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 05: Cesar Azpilicueta of Spain runs with the ball on during the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier match between Spain and Georgia at Estadio El Nuevo Vivero on September 05, 2021 in Badajoz, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

He wasn't done there, though. Keen to add more numbers to the Spanish attack - as he was used to doing with Chelsea - Azpilicueta raced into Italian territory.

Seconds later, it dawns upon the defender that he's miles out of position and has potentially his team vulnerable at the back. Putting his hands to his head in disbelief, Azpilicueta seemed genuinely gutted at his error and sheepishly shuffles back to resume his assigned role.

It was one of those moments as a player that you hope goes under the radar. Unfortunately for Azpilicueta that was never going to happen with pictures of the Nations League clash being beamed around the world.

It didn't take long for the brilliant footage to make its way onto TikTok, where it was later shared on Twitter - and enjoyed more than 35,000 times.

You can check it out for yourself below.

Watch: Azpilicueta's hilarious reaction after forgetting he's not playing for Chelsea while on duty with Spain

Judging by his body language after realising his mistake, Azpilicueta likely promised himself there and then that he'd be slightly more mindful when advancing upfield going forward.

Wherever his future lies at club level, the Chelsea legend would surely like it resolved as soon as possible. Whether that's realistic given Barcelona's current circumstances remains to be seen.

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