Romano reveals why Chelsea missed out on Brazilian wonderkid to PSG

Tom Weber

• Updated: 25 Jan 2024 14:21 GMT
• 3 min read

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Chelsea were unwilling to match Corinthians' asking price for Gabriel Moscardo.

The saga is finally over. Drawn out for longer than anticipated due to an injury, PSG have now at last confirmed the capture of Brazilian wonderkid Gabriel Moscardo, the second youngster to be snapped up by them from that country in the space of just a few weeks after Lucas Beraldo from Sao Paulo.

The Parisians have parted with €20 million upfront and will have to pay Corinthians up to €2m in bonuses, with Moscardo joining them in the summer. However, the Ligue 1 giants weren't the only big side interested in the youngster.

This transfer saga all started with Brazilian media reporting in late 2023 that Chelsea had struck a deal for the 18-year-old. This proved to be completely false, however, and it was ultimately PSG who began to engineer a deal. Chelsea were not in talks at all with Moscardo in the latter part of 2023, giving up on the youngster after being snubbed in the summer.

Moscardo too expensive

Incredibly, Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that free-spending Chelsea did not pursue a deal for the Brazilian because they simply deemed Corinthians' asking price for their golden boy too steep. The Blues, Romano insists, were never on the verge of sealing his signing despite reports to the contrary.

Speaking to CaughtOffside about Moscardo, the Italian transfer expert said: “Chelsea were also interested in Gabriel Moscardo back in August but they never wanted to spend €22/23m fee for the talented young midfielder, who is now joining PSG.”

"Chelsea’s plan was to offer way less and Corinthians rejected, so it was never close or almost done. PSG chief Luis Campos made the difference for Moscardo, he travelled to Brazil to scout Moscardo in person and to open negotiations for the Brazilian wonderkid.”