Chelsea owner Todd Boehly reportedly convinced Cesar Azpilicueta to disregard Marina Granovskaia’s transfer pact and remain at Stamford Bridge this summer. The right-back had been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona but ultimately put pen to paper on a new deal with the Blues earlier this week.
According to Spanish publication AS, Azpilicueta had an agreement with former transfer chief Granovskaia to allow him to leave this summer. But the Russian has left Stamford Bridge after the exit of former owner Roman Abramovich, with Boehly taking control of talks. And the American decided he would make Azpilicueta the cornerstone of his new project as he convinced the player to stay.
Chelsea had a transfer policy under the previous regime where they would only hand players one-year contracts if they were older than 30. But Boehly appears to have abolished that rule by handing Azpilicueta a two-year deal, while also signing Kalidou Koulibaly, the 31-year-old centre-half, on a multi-year deal.
Barcelona were keen to get their hands on Azpilicueta and had reached a verbal agreement with him. But the Blues were demanding £8.5million for the Spain international before managing to tie him down to the club.
Source: Express
