Vesper

There was no (or very little) media manipulation. The reporting on the instalments (for paying the full release clause) came because that is what we lead Benfica to believe we were going to do. They have confirmed thsi at multiple levels. We also agreed to terms with the player. Benfica would never have held multiple meetings if we walked in and said from the beginning, well we think he is worth €85m, not €120m, so that is our offer. Enzo would have never bothered talking terms with us if he knew we were going to make an official bid that was 100% guaranteed to be rejected. It is not rocket science to see what happened.

It's just LUDICROUS that some here are still saying nothing out of the normal happened between us and Benfica. That we did nothing except make one official offer of €85m, and that was it. We agreed to terms with the lad, ffs. He was already halfway (or more) in his head in London. We discussed instalment payments based off the release clause (where the hell do you think that overpay came from??? We floated that to see if Benfica would let us really break up the payments). Why the hell would Benfica discuss instalment terms on a TOTAL offer that was €35m UNDER the release clause? Come on!

every player you listed IS INJURED! and Chilwell and Fofana are fucked atm (quality wise) due to multiple injuries (especially Fofana), which is likely going to be the case for Broja too, when he comes back in late 2023 or early 2024

let's see him do it game in, game out

Nope, Benfica confirmed what happened. I am not going to let revisionism take hold and the gaslighting start without some serious pushback. We discussed FFP-friendly installment payment terms based off the release clause (where do you think that overpay figure came from?? come on!), but then, when the official offer was made by us, we low balled the RC by 35m euros, after also winding up Enzo by agreeing to personal terms. It was a cunt move. End of story. Marina, for all her faults, NEVER would have done that. I can totally understand us not wanting to spend the full €120m, absolutely I can, and would have completely accepted that, no problem, but don't play games and string them (including the player) along, then insult them with an offer you KNOW is never going to be accepted. There is NO chance Benfica would have talked to us for so long if they knew we were coming in with an offer that was wilfully €35m light. To suggest otherwise beggars belief, sorry.

great post

LOL good luck finding any takers for a 33+yo (turns 33 next season) oft-injured DMF on £340K PW (that's £17.7m per year in salary) until 2026 I am sure they will be queueing up like it was one of the Oasis gigs at Knebworth in 1996 Tickets went on sale at 9am on Saturday 11 May 1996 - the same day Manchester United beat Liverpool 1-0 in the FA Cup Final. 2.6 million people applied for tickets - which was 5% of the British population at the time. The band could have sold out the venue for two solid weeks.

Chelsea's Treble Winning Year! 🏆 | Gianluca Vialli's Italian Job | 1997-1998

The Very Best Of Gianluca Vialli | Chelsea Legends

€130m (£116m) in salary LOCKED in, for rapidly ageing out players, one who is perpetually injured and the other who looks profoundly out of his depth already is NOT better KK NEVER should have been purchased, let alone given an insane 4 year €70m contract I called it over 2 seasons ago, that he was no longer worth buying for the money we would pay Kante should have been sold in summer 2021 (again, another thing I called for back then), as what we could have gotten for him then would have EASILY paid for Tchou plus a decent backup RB, as Azpi was clearly rinsed as a RB (just look at last season, 2021/22 to see his turgid play there) If you think that all of sudden Kante is going to spring back to fully fit all or even most of the time, and KK is going to magically turn into prime (or even semi prime) Sol Campbell, well I also have a bridge for sale, gently used

WTF that's €130m (£116m) in salary (would be over €150m if Kante signed for 4 years like KK) combined over the next 3 years for Kante and 4 for KK!!!!!!! #fuckthisshit

Jim Fraser promoted to Head of Youth Development & Recruitment by Chelsea https://trainingground.guru/articles/fraser-promoted-to-head-of-youth-development-and-recruitment-by-Chelsea Jim Fraser (right) with Ethan Wady. JIM FRASER has been promoted to Head of Youth Development and Recruitment by Chelsea following Neil Bath’s elevation to Director of Football Development and Operations. TGG reported Bath’s promotion in November after the news was communicated to club staff via email. His new role means he will continue his Vision 2030 project - which we wrote in detail about here - and will also remain in overall charge of youth development at the club. However, he will also now have greater involvement with the first team, particularly in terms of the transition of players from Academy to senior football. Bath, who was described as “the fabric of Chelsea” by former Premier League Head of Youth Ged Roddy MBE, is a lifelong Blues fan who joined the club in 1993 as a part-time schoolboy coach. He went on to become their Academy Manager, in 2004, and Head of Youth Development, in 2011. This year, the Blues topped TGG’s Academy Productivity Rankings for the first time (the rankings covered the 2021/22 season). With Bath taking on an even more senior role, his long-time lieutenant, Fraser, has also taken on greater responsibilities. He has now been appointed Head of Youth Development and Recruitment, having previously been Assistant Head of Youth. Fraser joined Chelsea in November 2004 as Assistant Academy Manager for the 7s to 14s and became Assistant Head of Youth Development and Recruitment in 2010. Meanwhile, Jack Francis has been promoted to Academy Manager for the 9s to 14s, having previously been Head of Player Care and 15s/16s programme lead. Francis, who has been with the Blues for 12 years, will be responsible for football, player care, education and all supporting departments for youngsters before they sign their first professional contracts.

Jude Soonsup-Bell to leave Chelsea this month https://theathletic.com/4060920/2023/01/06/jude-soonsup-bell-Chelsea-departure/ Chelsea academy striker Jude Soonsup-Bell is going to leave the club this month. The Athletic reported in November that the highly-rated forward, who turns 19 next week, was considering his future at Chelsea and this was likely going to be his last season at Stamford Bridge. Soonsup-Bell’s current deal expires in the summer, but talks over an extension stalled last January when he began to consider his future. The teenager has now decided to bring forward his departure. Clubs in the Premier League and elsewhere in Europe have been monitoring the situation and are ready to take advantage of Soonsup-Bell becoming available. The terms of his exit will have to be discussed between Chelsea and his next team, but won’t be a problem. The teenager made his senior debut for Chelsea under previous coach Thomas Tuchel just 13 months ago and has been touted as a great prospect at the club’s academy for some time. For example, during the 2019-20 campaign, he scored 26 goals in all competitions for various Chelsea youth sides in just 17 appearances. In February 2021, he became the first Chelsea player in 59 years to score four times in a FA Youth Cup tie. Despite playing just 122 minutes for the Under-21s in the Premier League 2 this season, he has still scored two goals and registered an assist. One of the reasons for Soonsup-Bell’s departure, after seven enjoyable years at Chelsea, is that he is considering the pathway into the first team and that he will benefit from going elsewhere.

Gianluca Vialli dies aged 58 https://theathletic.com/4018445/2023/01/06/gianluca-vialli-dies-age-58/ Gianluca Vialli has died at the age of 58. The former Chelsea player and manager had announced last month that he was stepping away from his role with Italy’s national team after being diagnosed for a second time with pancreatic cancer in 2021. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) confirmed his death on Friday morning. President Gabriele Gravina said: “I hoped until the last that he could perform another miracle, yet I am comforted by the certainty that what he did for Italian football and the blue shirt will never be forgotten. “Gianluca was a wonderful person and leaves an unfillable void, in the national team and in all those who appreciated his extraordinary human qualities”. Vialli enjoyed an illustrious career with Sampdoria, Juventus and Chelsea after starting out at Cremonese. He scored 21 goals in 58 premier league appearances for Chelsea, winning an FA Cup, a League Cup and a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. He earned 59 caps for Italy and played at World Cups in 1986 and 1990, before retiring from his playing career in 1999. He has also managed Watford and Chelsea, winning the FA Cup with the latter. In October 2019, he was appointed as the new delegation chief of the Italy national football team under head coach Roberto Mancini. The FIGC said “a minute of recollection” for Vialli would take place before matches scheduled for next weekend.

you are conflating 2 seperate things, between holding talks that insinuated we were going to pay it with inner circle intent to apparently NOT pay it

my 'eek' was because they just seemed so negative about everything

this has worked out wonderfully so far! 🤬

eek

Chelsea target Enzo Fernandez 'out of Benfica match tonight' as transfer tussle continues https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1717724/Chelsea-news-Enzo-Fernandez-Benfica-transfer-tussle Chelsea target Enzo Fernandes will not be in the Benfica squad for Friday's match against Portimonense as he continues to be linked with a January move to Stamford Bridge, according to reports. The Blues have been locked in talks with Benfica regarding their interest in Fernandez over the last few weeks, although a deal is yet to be struck at club level as things stand. There have been issues in terms of agreeing a transfer fee, with Benfica adamant that Fernandez will only be allowed to leave the club this month if Chelsea are willing to pay his nine-figure release clause. The Blues are yet to give in, though, and have even reportedly offered three of their own players in a part-exchange deal that was swiftly rebuffed by those in power at Benfica. It was claimed on Thursday that negotiations at club level were at risk of fizzling out, but it seems as though the move remains in the works in spite of Chelsea's reluctance to meet Benfica's demands as of yet. Fernandez will not feature for his current employers against Portimonense on Friday evening, according to Portuguese newspaper A Bola, which suggests that his immediate future is still very much in the balance. Fernandez was said to have skipped training last week in order to make an unauthorised trip to Argentina, which angered Benfica officials prior to his return on Tuesday.

I was refuting what another poster claimed ABOUT HIS TIME AT BARCA nothing more, nothing less smdh

I believe that Benfica are telling the truth, they have never been a dodgy club that I know of, and I have always respected Rui Costa, plus I think Schmidt is a great manager they have been so public and so consistent about it after it happened that it would mean the entire top of the organisation would be making something up if it is not true

hell no to Rice for what West Ham is demanding just hell to the fucking no he has been shit in the majority of the games I have watched him in this year

that is NOT the issue for me it's the duplicitous short-arm play, talk up paying the RC, then when its time to shit or get off the loo, have the cheek to toss in an official offer that was 35m less than a price we knew was basically etched in stone (the wiggle room was on the instalment terms, but that is now blown to fuck for good) you and some others may be all good with that I think it is fucking disastrous way to try and do business

I am deffo pulling Dembele off any 'even remotely available'-based lists

Anyone who thinks the entire Benfica organisation (who are amongst the more straight dealers in the big 10 leagues) is just making shit up is delusional we fucked up badly, and I can see this becoming an ultimate 'split the TC board' event, where you have some hardliners who refuse to admit we fucked up badly Boehly's word is now tarnished across Europe to a point, and if we nightmarishly do this again, we are WELL FUCKED in the transfer market as long as he is involved with us and it. Marina did not do this type of shit, she didn't play games and lead clubs on in monster deals (and I have some gravitas backing me up on that, as most know I was far from her biggest fan) PLUS, we are not getting a profoundly needed player who had a damn good chance of of being quite transformational a good summary: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1717465/Chelsea-transfer-news-Enzo-Fernandez-Benfica-Premier-League-latest Chelsea have reportedly had three meetings with Benfica this month to try and lure Fernandez to Stamford Bridge. But the Portuguese giants quickly made it clear that the 21-year-old wouldn't be going anywhere unless any suitors triggered his £106million release clause. Rife reports earlier this week claimed Chelsea were willing to offer £112m to persuade Benfica to part ways with their most prized asset, but in instalments to adhere to FFP rules. However, Fabrizio Romano later reported that the Blues only offered £75m, significantly less than the demands that would've made Fernandez the most expensive Premier League player in history. And Schmidt has backed up that revelation by revealing an interested party were 'disrespectful' by offering lower than the release clause, despite indicating an intention to pay the full amount. He said: "We don't want to sell Enzo [Fernandez]. There's a club that wants him [and] tempted him, but they know the only way is [by paying the] £106m (€120m) clause. "They're disrespectful. They're leaving the player crazy. They acted like they wanted to pay clause... then wanted to negotiate [a cheaper fee]." The Benfica boss also heaped praise on Fernandez, stressing his desire for the World Cup's Best Young Player to remain in Lisbon beyond January. "Enzo is a good guy and an extraordinary player. We want him to stay," Schmidt added. "The situation is not easy. He played in the World Cup, won the World Cup, had proposals. There is a lot of money at stake."