Chelsea FC’s Spend Spree Continues with Record Breaking Signing of Enzo Fernández. Chelsea’s unrelenting pursuit to dominate the transfer market continues as they broke the British transfer record by signing Enzo Fernández for an astonishing £106.8m from Benfica. This move takes the total spending under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership to over £500m.
Behdad Eghbali, the co-owner of Chelsea FC, led the negotiations with Benfica which took place on a busy Tuesday.
The 22-year-old Fernández was Chelsea’s top target in the midfield and they finally reached an agreement with Benfica just two hours before the transfer window closed at 11 PM UK time. Fernández’s contract included a £105.9m release clause, which Benfica insisted be paid in full. Although Chelsea had made a previous bid for Fernández earlier in the transfer window, they were hesitant to trigger the clause due to concerns over violating the financial fair play regulations.
Chelsea agreed to pay over the release clause for Enzo Fernandez in several instalments to meet the financial fair play regulations.This transfer beats the previous British transfer record of Jack Grealish’s £100m move from Aston Villa to Manchester City in 2021.
In line with their policy of offering long-term contracts, Fernández has signed an eight-year deal with Chelsea FC. The club believes that these extended contracts will help them comply with the financial fair play regulations. UEFA plans to modify these regulations starting from the summer, requiring clubs to limit the cost-spreading of fees to five years or less.
Chelse Signings:
Besides Fernández, Chelsea has recently signed Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk for £88.8m on an eight-and-a-half-year deal. Chelsea FC also added players to their roster by acquiring Andrey Santos, Davide Datro Fofana, Benoît Badiashile, Noni Madueke and loaning João Félix from Atlético Madrid for £8.8m, and loaned Malo Gusto back to Lyon.
Despite being 10th in the Premier League, the hierarchy at Chelsea FC has continued to support manager Graham Potter. They will be hoping that Fernández will add strength to the central midfield and improve the team’s overall performance.