Argentine player Enzo Fernandez expressed his gratitude to English football club Chelsea when officially announcing on Wednesday that he had completed his signing from Benfica, Portugal, in a record deal at the level of British clubs.
Since early January, Fernandez, who won the 2022 World Cup with the Argentine national team, has appeared as a primary goal for Chelsea, but the player seemed on his way to staying with Benfica after negotiations between the two clubs initially failed.
But Chelsea did not give up, and continued trying until he succeeded in closing the deal before the closing of the winter transfer market on Tuesday evening, and reached an agreement with Benfica to include the player in return for paying a penalty clause of 121 million euros ($ 131 million).
The deal, which was announced by Benfica before it was officially announced by Chelsea on Wednesday, is the largest in the history of British club contracts with players.
Fernandez admitted that Chelsea had been seeking for a long time and insisted on obtaining his services, and he stated during the signing ceremony, saying: I am grateful to Chelsea and his owners for doing everything in order to be part of this project.
He added: I am happy and excited to be joining London Pride, playing in the best league in the world and competing for the biggest trophies.
He added: I can’t wait to play in front of our fans and help my teammates on and off the field.
Chelsea FC owners Todd Boley and Baghdad Iqbali said: We are delighted to include Enzo, we have signed a World Cup winning player and one of the brightest talents in world football.
They added: We are excited to have him join the team coached by Graham (Potter), and we are confident that he will play an important role in the progress of our team forward.
And they continued: Enzo showed his abilities at the highest levels, so we look forward to what he will present in the Chelsea shirt.
