Chelsea players bring festive cheer during annual hospital visit

Smiles: The Chelsea players paid children in hospital a visit ahead of Christmas
GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images
Vaishali Bhardwaj17 December 2015

There may not be a particularly cheerful atmosphere at Chelsea at the moment, but that didn't stop the players from bringing a smile to the faces of children during their annual hospital visit.

The squad made the trip from their training base in Cobham, Surrey to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on Wednesday afternoon to meet children, pose for photographs, sign autographs and hand out gift bags as part of their yearly visit ahead of Christmas.

Afterwards, the champions headed to Stamford Bridge to meet more than 200 kids, plus 20 specially chosen by the club's foundation, as part of the annual Bridge Kids Christmas party.

The festivities at the stadium featured yet more photographs and autographs, but also saw John Terry wishing the attendees a Merry Christmas and Diego Costa even giving a short Portuguese lesson.

Gary Cahill admitted the day was one the players looked forward to each year and revealed his pleasure at being able to bring a smile to the faces of the club's young fans despite Chelsea's woes in the Premier League.

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"The visit is something we do every year and it’s brilliant to see the smiles on the faces of the children when we arrive, especially with it being so close to Christmas," he told Chelsea's official website.

"Having a child in hospital means it’s obviously a really tough time for the families as well, so if we can help give them a little lift it makes a difference.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb">&#13; <p dir="ltr" lang="en">It was nice to hangout with wonderful kids in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and see smiles on their faces. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/brsSynvXOa" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3139271-https://t.co/brsSynvXOa" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/brsSynvXOa</a>&#13; — Asmir Begovic (@asmir1) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/asmir1/status/677213727628910592" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3139271-https://twitter.com/asmir1/status/677213727628910592" data-vars-event-id="c23">December 16, 2015</a>

"The children all seemed really happy to see us and one boy even gave us all a little present, which was a very nice touch and really meant a lot. It’s always a day the players look forward to every year."

John Obi Mikel added: "It’s always good to come here and see the kids and give them early Christmas presents and spend time with them at this time of the year. We know how much it means to them."

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