Chelsea announce record signing of Benfica's Fernandez
Send a link to a friend
[February 01, 2023]
By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) -Premier League side Chelsea announced the signing
of Enzo Fernandez from Benfica on Wednesday after a day of complex
negotiations between the clubs as the Argentina midfielder joined
for a British record 106.8 million pounds ($131.46 million).
As the deadline day approached its end, it appeared a deal might not
be reached but a statement from Benfica confirmed that it had been
agreed shortly before 2300 GMT on Tuesday.
Chelsea announced the signing on Wednesday 1000 GMT via a video on
Twitter, which showed a clip of a clock ticking down, making a
reference to the deadline day.
Benfica's statement said Chelsea would pay the contract release fee
for the 22-year-old, who has signed an eight-and-a-half year deal
with the London club. It takes Chelsea's transfer spending in
January alone to more than 300 million pounds.
According to media reports, Chelsea will pay the fee in several
instalments.
"Sport Lisboa e Benfica - Futebol, SAD informs that it has reached
an agreement with Chelsea FC for the sale of all the rights of the
player Enzo Fernandez, for an amount of 121,000,000 euros," a
Benfica statement read.
Benfica signed Fernandez in July 2022 from River Plate, who have a
25% sell-on clause. He bagged four goals and seven assists in 29
games in all competitions for Benfica this season.
The 106.8 million pounds fee eclipses the 100 million pounds
Manchester City paid Aston Villa for England midfielder Jack
Grealish in 2021.
Fernandez was instrumental in Argentina's World Cup-winning campaign
in Qatar, breaking into the starting lineup and playing every game,
scoring one of the goals in a vital victory over Mexico in the group
phase.
He capped off the tournament by bagging the Young
Player Award.
Benfica boss Roger Schmidt was not keen on seeing Fernandez leave
but had said their hands would be tied if a club paid the player's
release clause.
[to top of second column] |
Soccer Football - Primeira Liga -
Benfica v Arouca - Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal - August 5, 2022
Benfica's Enzo Fernandez celebrates scoring their third goal
REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo
Fernandez is Chelsea's eighth
recruit in the mid-season transfer window after the London club
signed Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Andrey
Santos, David Fofana and Malo Gusto while Joao Felix arrived on loan
from Atletico Madrid. All of them are 23 or younger.
On Tuesday, Chelsea sold experienced midfielder Jorginho to Premier
League leaders Arsenal for 12 million pounds. However, Paris St
Germain's attempt to sign Morocco's Hakim Ziyech on loan failed.
Fernandez's transfer takes Chelsea's total outlay on players since
last May's takeover by an investment group led by American Todd
Boehly and Clearlake Capital to around 600 million pounds as they
try to rebuild their squad.
Chelsea are 10th in the Premier League, 10 points adrift of a top
four spot. They next host local rivals Fulham on Friday.
($1 = 0.8124 pounds)
(Reporting by Martyn Herman and Manasi Pathak; Editing by Toby
Davis/Peter Rutherford and Christian Radnedge)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|