Caicedo is one of several players who feature in our new Christmas campaign launch video, The Magic of Blue, as Chelsea Football Club and Chelsea Foundation look to raise awareness and funds to help tackle the growing issue of loneliness.

In addition to the heart-warming film, which includes Caicedo's team-mates Enzo Fernandez, Alejandro Garnacho, Joao Pedro and Estevao Willian – and can be viewed below – there is an opportunity for our fans to donate gifts at our upcoming matches.

Proceeds from sales of our Christmas merchandise will also be going to charity, and we will be working closely with campaign charity partners such as Age UK and Shepherd’s Star to hopefully improve the lives of those in our community who are feeling lonely this Christmas.

- Learn more about our Christmas campaign here

‘I am so pleased to be helping with this campaign because I know not everybody is with their family at Christmas and some people are alone,' Moi said. 'For me, being in this campaign is so good and hopefully we can help people.’

The issue of being away from family and friends at Christmas, or at any other time for that matter, is something Ecuador international Moi knows about all too well.

Caicedo is incredibly close with his family and continues to appreciate the Santo Domingo community that helped raise him.

With seven brothers and two sisters, Moi may not have lived with all nine of his siblings due to the age gap, but he spent much of his childhood with four of his brothers and would see his other family members regularly.

So when it came to making the 9,000-plus kilometre flight to England at the age of just 19 following his move to Brighton and Hove Albion in 2021, it was always going to be difficult.

But as the Covid-19 pandemic restricted Moi to a hotel room for the first ten days on these shores, the midfielder has spoken in the past about how he cried on a daily basis early on and wanted to return to Ecuador.

‘When I moved to England, it was so difficult to be far from my family. It was the first time I’d left them for a long time,' Moi explained.

‘I was on my own. It was a tough moment for me because I’d never left my family before. I had to adapt because it was to be my new life in this country.

‘I prayed a lot because I knew God would hear me in that moment so I prayed a lot because those moments are difficult for people who come from South America to England.'

Whether it is in a football team's dressing room or a company's office, the role of colleagues cannot be underestimated when it comes to tackling loneliness.

When people are away from their family and friends, those interactions throughout the day can have a huge impact on the mental well-being and happiness of your colleagues.

After a tough start to life on the English coast, Moi was lucky when he finally arrived in the Brighton dressing room.

He explained: ‘My team-mates at Brighton were very kind to me. I had three or four Spanish speakers at Brighton who helped me. I remember Alexis Mac Allister, in particular, as he helped me a lot when I joined.

‘I’m so grateful to him because the language was so difficult and things like the time difference were difficult so I had to adapt on and off the pitch. It was a tough time but it was also a very good one because they never left me alone.’

Moi's gradual adaptation to life in England saw him excel on the pitch, becoming one of the world's most sought-after midfielders. A dream move to Chelsea arrived in the summer of 2023.

Caicedo has gone from strength to strength and now in his third season as a Blue, is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world.

He may have only just turned 24, but Moi is one of the senior members of Chelsea's dressing room, often filling in as captain in the absence of Reece James and Enzo Fernandez, but he has not forgotten those early experiences and how important it is to help any team-mates who might be experiencing loneliness.

‘I try to help players when they arrive at my club - I did this in Brighton and now here at Chelsea, where I try to get closer to the players who come from places like South America because it's hard,' he said.

‘It's hard for us with the language, the time difference, the weather, the food, for everything. So for me, it's so special to help, to help them like someone helped me. I'm trying to help them so they can feel like their family is here.’

Moi's kind and caring personality shines through whenever you sit down with him. His humble nature and clear gratitude for the situation he finds himself in make you immediately warm to the Ecuadorian.

He still recalls the way the Santo Domingo community helped him as a child, how his siblings helped shape him as the footballer he is today, and how his Brighton team-mates helped him through his toughest times.

Moi knows the power of friendship and the power of football when it comes to helping those who are suffering, whether that is with loneliness or anything else.

‘Football is very special because it’s not just a sport — it is something that unites people,' he said. 'We’re not only thinking about playing football but also bringing in people from the Chelsea Foundation or people who are sick, so they can enjoy watching or talking with us.

‘For us, it is so special because we’re not just thinking about football, but about helping people and making them smile a little bit more.

‘Or during our games, maybe when we score, people feel better and for us, it is more than just being footballers.’

Learn more about our The Magic of Blue campaign here and you can see our Christmas collection, where a percentage of all sales will be donated to fundraising efforts, here.