Chelsea may not yet feel as though they have got value for money for the £115 million they shelled out of Moises Caicedo last year, but they look set to lose a further £17m this summer as part of the transfer agreement.
Brighton received a whopping return on their £4.5m 2021 signing from Ecuadorian outfit Independiente del Valle. Caicedo was the second-most expensive signing of the summer amid his move to Chelsea, who are now walking a Financial Fair Play tightrope. Only Declan Rice’s £116m move to Arsenal cost more.
Chelsea’s scheduled new £17m shell-out, as reported by Bolavip, will only increase Todd Boehly’s FFP headache. The report says Independiente director Franklin Tello has announced that his club will receive the payment, thanks to a FIFA scheme that ensures clubs who sell on youth talent are due a portion of a future transfer fee after their initial exit.
The Ecuador club are apparently planning to upgrade their youth training facilities with the recouped money, with construction already underway, while the rest will go on general player transfers.
Second-tier side Espoli de Santo Domingo – who helped train Caicedo in his fledgling days – are also in line for $1m, a huge sum for the minnows. Caicedo has played 35 times for Chelsea this season and mustered just two assists.
Meanwhile, the Blues last week recorded a pre-tax loss of £90m for the accounting period ending 2022/23. There are fears the club could be on course to break Premier League spending rules this summer, having splashed around £1 billion on players since Boehly’s arrival in 2022.