Chelsea had Raphinha in their grasp before Barcelona played spoilsport
Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani has revealed that Raphinha to Chelsea was ‘done’ but ‘Barcelona influences’ put it in jeopardy. He explained what happened while speaking to The Athletic (subscription required) [h/t Metro].
The transfer saga involving the Brazilian and Chelsea is very well known. The Blues were said to have had a £55 million fee accepted by Leeds for the player. Given Barcelona’s financial situation, they were behind the Blues and it looked like the 25-year-old would move to Stamford Bridge.
But the Catalunya club somehow managed the funds for the transfer and reached their agreement with the Yorkshire club. The player preferred a move to Barcelona over London and he ultimately got his wish.
Now the Leeds owner has opened up about what happened. Radrizzani says that he was ashamed to go and tell Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly that their position regarding the player had changed.
“For me, it was done, and when I have a deal my word is my word. I felt ashamed to go back to Todd Boehly and change my position. Chelsea was in his favourable [option]. But unfortunately, let’s say Barcelona influences convinced the player to wait, to wait, to wait until they could find a solution.”
Despite the Blues being his favoured option and the clubs agreeing for a fee, the player moved to Barcelona. And if this was not enough, the La Liga giants then went on to hijack the Jules Kounde deal from the hands of Thomas Tuchel. This led to the Chelsea management and fans being angry with the Spanish club.
They even wanted both Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso from Chelsea, but Azpilicueta has signed a new deal keeping himself at the club for another two years. As for Alonso, negotiations between the two clubs are going on. The Blues also lost Andreas Christen to Barcelona, when he joined them for free after completing his contract this summer.
Chelsea and Barcelona have gone head-to-head for quite some targets this summer. While the Blues have not necessarily come out on top every time, this has not stopped them. Tuchel has signed Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly this summer while Marc Cucurella is also said to be close to making a switch to west London.
More Chelsea News
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- Cesar Azpilicueta signs two-year deal with Chelsea
- Chelsea close to landing Marc Cucurella after successful medical
The fans were hurt after having missed out on some good players. But that is part and parcel of supporting a club. Attention now turns to the new season that begins this weekend. Chelsea will hope that they challenge for the title next season and begin their charge with a trip to Goodison Park.