In a surprising move, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has signed an extension that will see him remain at Stamford Bridge until 2032.
This comes barely three months into his signing with the club for £107 million from Benfica on the deadline day of the winter transfer window. His initial contract was to run until 2031, similar to most of the signings under Chelsea’s new ownership. This makes the new signing a one-year extension.
The contract extension is an early invocation of the one-year extension option in his initial contract. This officially sees the 22-year-old tied to Chelsea for nine-and-a-half years.
Chelsea’s £107 million payment on the former Benfica man was to be amortised for the duration of his initial contract but the extension sees them add an extra year to the amortisation period.
It is the same with all their other long-term signings but it is believed that Chelsea triggered Enzo’s extension clause thanks to plans by UEFA to plug a loophole the club had exploited in their transfer dealings.
With transfer fee amortisation becoming the order of the day, the European football go earning body has finalised plans to officially impose a contract limit of five years on signings. This will eventually spill over into the amortisation process of signings made after the pronouncement.
Enzo Fernandez became the Premier League’s most expensive signing in history when he left Portugal for London, England. Chelsea agreed a deal to spread out his payment to Benfica in the duration of his eight-and-a-half year contract. Adding an extra year gives them a little more breathing space to pay the mammoth fee.
UEFA’s new law would have prevented clubs from signing players to long term contracts just to amortise their transfer fees for as long as Chelsea are going to be doing with their 2022/23 signings.
The extension for Fernandez will see Chelsea pay around £11 million every year for the next nine-and-a-half years, which is a far more manageable sum. Fernandez is also believed to not be the only player who the club intend to renew, with Mykhaylo Mudryk (£88.5 million) and Benoit Badiashile (£35 million) reportedly up next.
On the other hand, it guarantees Chelsea a solid option in the middle of the park for the next decade. It also guarantees them the promise of a big payout should Enzo leave Stamford Bridge anytime within his nine-and-a-half year contract.
