The Benfica midfielder and World Champion with Argentina in the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Enzo Fernández, became the new signing of Chelsea in the English Premier League this Tuesday in exchange for $121 million dollars.
The change of Fernández, one of the greatest novels on the market, took place a few minutes before the deadline for the closing of the market in European football when Benfica published the transaction on its social networks.
One of the most outstanding things about the agreement is that he signed for seven and a half seasons, so the Albiceleste player will be linked to Chelsea until the 2029-2030 season.
In addition, the $121 million deal became the highest deal in Premier League team history, surpassing Manchester City’s signing of Jack Grealish in 2021 when the Citizens paid more than $113 million in dollars for his transfer from Aston Villa.
Within the agreement, it is expected that 25% of the transfer amount will be received by his previous team in Argentina, River Plate, approximately $30.25 million dollars.
At the Portuguese club, which he joined last summer from River Plate in exchange for $10 million dollars, he had played 29 games this season, where he left numbers of 4 goals and six assists.
After his departure Roger Schmidt, technical director of Benfica, spoke about what will be seen in the Portuguese team after the departure of Enzo Fernández.
“It is always difficult to lose a good player in the winter transfer window, but today we showed that we are a good team without him, that we are capable of playing good football without him, that the players are focused on having the most points, to be champions”, he said after the victory against Arouca.
Finally, Schmidt recalled that no player is bigger than the institution and that when the club found out that Enzo Fernández wanted a change of scenery and the offer was made known, they decided to say yes to his departure.
“Benfica is much bigger than a player. We only need players who are happy to play for Benfica. We had a player who wanted to leave and a club willing to pay the clause. We couldn’t do anything. We accept and look forward, ”he concluded.