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| Andreas Christensen of Chelsea and Nuno Tavares of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on April 20, 2022 in London, England. |
Barcelona have announced their first signings of
this summer transfer window after completing the free transfers of Chelsea
defender Andreas Christensen and AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie.
The Spanish giants confirmed in a statement that
Christensen and Kessie both have 500 million euros ($521.8 million) release
clauses written into their new contracts and will be formally presented at a
press conference on Thursday.
Christensen had a successful 10-year stint at
Chelsea, where he won the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Club World Cup,
Super Cup and the English FA Cup. But he has chosen to leave his boyhood club
when his contract expires this summer.
“I was a young boy at Chelsea with all the
hopes and fears of a player starting his career. I’m grateful to the whole club
for making my dream come true,” said the 26-year-old Danish star on
Instagram.“Having spent 10 amazing years at this club, I
felt now was the right time for a new beginning for me and my family. Mentally
the last few months have been tough as it’s not been an easy decision to leave
this club and the fans.”
Kessie enjoyed five brilliant seasons at AC Milan,
during which the 25-year-old played a big part in driving the Italian
powerhouse to their first league title in 11 years. He featured in 31 of 38
games under Milan boss Stefano Pioli last season and only missed out due to
injury or international duties.
According to several media outlets, Tottenham were
also interested in signing Kessie and their managing director Fabio Paratici
had set the indefatigable Cote d’Ivoire midfielder as the club’s primary target,
but Barcelona had the last laugh.
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