Revealed: Why Marc Cucurella joined Chelsea over Man City

FT Desk

7 Sep 2022 02:17 CDT
3 min read

Marc Cucurella looked poised to become a Manchester City player before completing a £62m/€72m transfer from Brighton to Chelsea this summer…

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Cucurella had only been in the Premier League for one season, but he impressed on the South Coast to the degree that the biggest clubs in world football were in for him, with Chelsea also beating Barcelona to the left-back's signature.

A former Barca academy player, Cucurella seemed likeliest to move to City, to play under Pep Guardiola, with Joao Cancelo planned to switch to right-back. But Chelsea swooped late in the day, making Cucurella the most expensive left-back of all time.

Chelsea's new £62m signing Marc Cucurella 🆕 pic.twitter.com/1b7KMpZ1LG
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 5, 2022

"He was really close to joining Manchester City" transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano told hi YouTube channel. "He had an agreement on personal terms. Pep Guardiola wanted Marc Cucurella. But then what happened: there was no agreement between Brighton and Man City for Cucurella on the value of the player, because Man City's final bid was around £40 million, and Brighton said 'no'.

'No way' City would let Alvarez leave

"But what I can tell you is that behind the scenes, Brighton asked for this man: Julian Alvarez, as a potential part of the negotiation. Alvarez on loan to Brighton for one season to complete the Cucurella deal between Man City and Brighton. The answer from City was very clear: 'no way.' Julian Alvarez is untouchable. They received more than 10 requests from club to have Julian Alvarez on loan. The answer was very clear: 'no way.'"

Whilst Chelsea paid more money, they also allowed Levi Colwill to move in the opposite direction. Billy Gilmour has since joined Brighton in an unrelated £9m/€10.4m deal, although relations between Chelsea and the Seagulls are clearly healthy.

Guardiola has kept his word on Alvarez, giving him six games in all competitions already this season. The Argentina forward has repaid that faith with three goals so far.