Caicedo SLAMMED for picking Chelsea over Liverpool by Brighton CEO
Robin Bairner
- 16 Aug 2023 07:27 BST
- 3 min read
Brighton have broken their silence on Moises Caicedo’s transfer to Chelsea, revealing their frustration at the actions of the Ecuador international, who turned down the opportunity to move to Liverpool.
FootballTransfers exclusively broke the news that Brighton wanted the 21-year-old to move to Anfield and never wanted him to broker a transfer with Chelsea. This is due to the strong relationship they have with Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Speaking to TalkSport, Brighton CEO Paul Barber confirmed this information as he slammed the player for making life difficult for the club that discovered him.
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He explained: “Liverpool are a fantastic club - you'd imagine anyone would be running up the M6 for the chance to play at Anfield. But for whatever reason, Moises and his advisors decided London was their preferred destination.
“In that situation we're in a difficult position; we've negotiated a British record deal and spent several days working with Liverpool - who were professional throughout.
“At that point when the player chooses not to go, we're out of the loop, it is all between the player and Liverpool.
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“When it became clear he isn't going to be joining Liverpool, we have to go into a different mode, we then have to do it all again, which we did.
“We started working with Chelsea, and we had to protect our own interests which is the player. We did that and now Moises goes on to the next step in his career.”
How much did Chelsea pay for Caicedo?
Chelsea signed Caicedo for a fee that is being reported as a basic €116 million (£100m), with the potential to rise as high as €134m (£115m). This would beat their previous record transfer, which was that of Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for €121m.
He could make his debut on Sunday, when the Blues travel to face West Ham in Premier League action after a 1-1 draw with Liverpool on the opening day of the season.
