Enzo Fernandez has told Benfica he wants to leave for Chelsea this week after the English Premier League club offered to pay a transfer fee of €120million (£105.5m). Though the latest bid for the Argentina international represents a record sum for a midfielder, the Liga Portugal leaders are continuing to resist a sale.
Angered by Chelsea's “disrespectful” approach to signing Fernandez, Benfica say they will not accept payment of the fee in installments and will only allow the 22-year-old to change clubs this month if the player pays his contract's €120m release clause himself. Due to the laws in Portugal, the personal tax burden of doing so would effectively double the cost of the transfer to Fernandez's new club.
As Chelsea's move to secure Fernandez before Tuesday's transfer deadline is partially driven by accounting concerns – the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium wants to amortise the midfielder's fee over a period longer than the five-year limit that UEFA is about to add to Financial Fair Play regulations – further negotiation will be required if the deal is to be completed.
