With the aim of repositioning itself as one of the most feared teams on the old continent, FC Barcelona announced its first two reinforcements for the season 2017/. They are the Ivorian midfielder Frank Kessie and the Danish center-back Andreas Christensen.
The two players, announced this Monday, arrive as free agents and will sign a contract until 30 June 2026. In addition, they will be shielded by a termination clause of 500 million euros ($520 million dollars).
Kessie, who will be presented next Wednesday at the Camp Nou, defended the AC Milan jersey for the last five seasons. This is the second Ivory Coast player to sign for Barca, following in the footsteps of fellow midfielder Yaya Touré.
The steering wheel, from 25 years old, has developed his professional career in Italy since he played with Atalanta in 2014. There he won the opportunity to make the leap to professional football with Cesena, in Serie B, where he ended up on loan to continue training as a footballer.
The African is characterized by his versatility, in view of who can play in all three midfield positions, being a penalty specialist. In five courses with Milan he played 223 matches, in which he scored 37 goals.
A European champion arrives at Barca
Christensen, whose presentation is scheduled for Thursday, has just played five seasons with Chelsea FC. Before returning to London he had a spell with Borussia Mönchengladbach (2014-2017) in the Bundesliga. Previously, he was trained in the Brondby IF youth academy
The Danish, from 28 years, won a Premier League title, FA Cup and Carabao Cup; as well as the Champions League, two Europa Leagues, a UEFA Super Cup and a Club World Cup. He was also part of the Danish team that reached the semifinals of the last European Championship.
In a statement, the Barça team described him as “a player capable of dominating defensive situations of any style, very powerful inside the area in aerial play”. Likewise, his technique stands out with the ball at his feet.
Barca’s next goals would be the signings of Raphinha (Leeds Unites), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) and Joules Koundé (Seville). There is also talk of César Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso (Chelsea).
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