Chelsea won the Moisés Caicedo lottery with a record transfer fee of $146 million
Chelsea’s extravagant spending spree continued on Monday when they were the Premier League club officially acquired Midfielder Moises Caicedo, 21, is from Brighton for £115m, or about $146m.
This number is according ESPN, record the highest transfer fee for a British professional football team. He surpassed the record previously set by Chelsea in February when the team paid £106.8 million (about $135.5 million) for Benfica’s Enzo Fernandes.
The Caicedo deal also brings the total amount that Chelsea’s new owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, have spent on player transfers, to $1 billion since they took over over 15 months ago. However, the early returns on this investment did not pay off as Chelsea dropped to 12th in the Premier League table.
Caicedo’s run against Chelsea’s Premier League rivals Liverpool came with a bit of mixed controversy. Reportedly, Liverpool have raised Chelsea’s original offer With 30 million pounds sterling, and manager Jurgen Klopp He publicly confirmed his club’s approval To contract with Caicedo on Friday. But the midfielder has reportedly refused to join the Reds and will just sign for Chelsea, leaving the Blues with his original best bid and win over Liverpool for Caicedo.
Chelsea reportedly later signed Caicedo to an eight-year deal with an option for a ninth, according to him Italian football insider Fabrizio Romano.
“I am very happy to be joining Chelsea!” Caicedo said, on the team’s website. “I’m so excited to be here at this big club and I didn’t have to think twice when Chelsea called me, I just knew I wanted to sign for the club. It’s a dream come true to be here and I can’t wait to get started with the team.”
Caicedo made 50 appearances in five seasons for Brighton. He scored two goals and two assists during his time there, but excelled as a defensive midfielder. He ranked first in tackles, interceptions and possessions won, according to Opta analyzer. Caicedo, who is from Santo Domingo, Ecuador, started his football career at Independiente del Valle of the Ecuadorean league.
During their pursuit of Caicedo, Chelsea also triggered a release clause for Leeds United midfielder and NAFA captain Tyler Adams. That deal reportedly fell through to Premier League champions Bournemouth She reportedly swooped in to sign Adams.
