This bizzare Chelsea/Atletico PSR merry go round…

[Rozay]

This whole situation looks like a bit of a farce here and the cloak of genuineness appears to have long fallen off and this whole book-cooking drama is playing out in plain sight now.

Perhaps someone can please explain to me. It appears that, for some reason, both clubs have gotten themselves in a situation where they have decided that they need to both buy/sell a player to/from each other - seemingly with little regard for who those players are.

When Chelsea were after Omorodion, there looked to be some credibility to it. They had been after him all summer, he fit the profile that they needed etc. It was also said, quite logically, that Atletico’s deal for Alvarez wouldn’t go through until Omorodion was sold (for budgetary reasons), although Omorodion’s sale comes attached to its own expenditure on Connor Gallagher. Valencia’s chairman has said that Atletico tried to cancel the Gallagher deal as their priority is actually Javi Guerra instead. And now Chelsea are seemingly navigating for Felix, at an even higher price than Omorodion.

Someone make this make sense as, with the exception of Atletico signing Alvarez, every other piece of this puzzle seems to have little to do with actual sporting requirements.

 

[Solius]

Omorodion hasn't even played for Atletico and yet Chelsea being willing to spend 40m euros seemed dodgy from the start. Quelle surprise.

 

[WeePat]

Omorodion hasn't even played for Atletico and yet Chelsea being willing to spend 40m euros seemed dodgy from the start. Quelle surprise.

He had been on loan though, and by all accounts performed quite well. It isn’t unusual for a player to fetch a decent fee on the back of a good loan spell. Chelsea just did the same with Omari Hutchinson. Liverpool just did it with Fabio Carvalho.

It’s the Felix aspect of this that is stupid, imo.

 

[Rozay]

He had been on loan though, and by all accounts performed quite well. It isn’t unusual for a player to fetch a decent fee on the back of a good loan spell. Chelsea just did the same with Omari Hutchinson. Liverpool just did it with Fabio Carvalho.

It’s the Felix aspect of this that is stupid, imo.

I think more dodgy than stupid. After Omorodion deal collapsed, the logical thing would seem that Chelsea go and look on the market for the best alternative option. Vice versa, if Gallagher isn’t joining, Atletico can look elsewhere. But it seems that both clubs have first agreed to do business with each other, then the players part of things is being added in after.

 

[WeePat]

There are only two explanations for the Felix nonsense. Chelsea are either just trying to do Atleti or Mendes a solid because they need outgoings for FFP reasons in return for a favour in a future window, like Mudryk to Atleti for 50m?

Or Chelsea also desperately need Gallagher to be sold for their own FFP reasons and can’t afford for the deal to collapse, which it seemingly will if Atleti do not sell a player of comparable value, hence they’ve pivoted to Felix.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Glad to see this thread. Seems so weird that both of these deals blew up last minute. Feels like AM got to the fine print and did not like what they saw etc... I know it's probably not that but the whole thing seems very strange. My Chelsea supporting pals have no clue what the feck is going on with the club.

 

[WeePat]

Glad to see this thread. Seems so weird that both of these deals blew up last minute. Feels like AM got to the fine print and did not like what they saw etc... I know it's probably not that but the whole thing seems very strange. My Chelsea supporting pals have no clue what the feck is going on with the club.

It's actually Chelsea that pulled out of the Omorodion deal at the last minute. Everything was seemingly agreed between Atleti and Gallagher and Atleti and Chelsea on the Gallagher transfer. What is being reported is Chelsea pulling out of the Omorodion deal has pressed pause on the Gallagher deal. It hasn't been reported why the Omorodion deal ccollapsing would torpedo the Gallagher deal, but we can speculate of course.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

It's actually Chelsea that pulled out of the Omorodion deal at the last minute. Everything was seemingly agreed between Atleti and Gallagher and Atleti and Chelsea on the Gallagher transfer. What is being reported is Chelsea pulling out of the Omorodion deal has pressed pause on the Gallagher deal. It hasn't been reported why the Omorodion deal ccollapsing would torpedo the Gallagher deal, but we can speculate of course.

Got it, thanks for info.

 

[Powderfinger]

Chelsea pulled out of the deal but the underlying issue is probably that Atletico are cutting it so close with La Liga PSR rules that they won't be able to register Gallagher unless they have an offsetting sale.

Selling Felix to Chelsea would kill two birds with one stone for Atletico (solving their PSR problems and removing their biggest headache) so I imagine they are highly motivated to try that solution. But if they can't do it then I can see the Gallagher move collapsing and maybe Atleti trying to revive their move for Valencia's Javi Guerra, who would be a lot cheaper in terms of both fee and wages.

The reality is that Atletico don't really have many other good candidates for a big sale (to Chelsea or anyone else), beyond Omorodion and Felix.

 

[Rozay]

It's actually Chelsea that pulled out of the Omorodion deal at the last minute. Everything was seemingly agreed between Atleti and Gallagher and Atleti and Chelsea on the Gallagher transfer. What is being reported is Chelsea pulling out of the Omorodion deal has pressed pause on the Gallagher deal. It hasn't been reported why the Omorodion deal ccollapsing would torpedo the Gallagher deal, but we can speculate of course.

The oddity is the link between the two clubs. If it’s a case where Atleti just need to sell a player to get money so that they can buy a player they want (Gallagher), why are they not trying to sell Felix to Villa who are interested? And likewise, if Chelsea just need money for Gallagher, the fact that they need to buy a player in order to get that seems counterproductive.

All in all, this deal doesn’t look like two clubs just legitimately trying to strengthen their teams to me.

 

[WeePat]

The oddity is the link between the two clubs. If it’s a case where Atleti just need to sell a player to get money so that they can buy a player they want (Gallagher), why are they not trying to sell Felix to Villa who are interested? And likewise, if Chelsea just need money for Gallagher, the fact that they need to buy a player in order to get that seems counterproductive.

All in all, this deal doesn’t look like two clubs just legitimately trying to strengthen their teams to me.

Maybe Felix has said no Villa? I can't imagine why Atleti wouldn't sell him to Villa, if the offer was decent. He's a bottleneck on their finances.

If both clubs have PSR issues they need to deal with (which I would be surprised if Chelsea still do), then it does somewhat explain why Chelsea have pivoted to Felix when the Omorodion deal fell through. In this scenario, they need Gallagher out of the door, with a willing buyer ready, while Atleti need any player of comparable value to Gallagher out of the door too. Atleti get to register a lump sum on the books immediately while amortising Gallagher's deal, while Chelsea do the same in the opposite direction. Mutually beneficial financially.

The problem starts when you start considering what footballing benefit either player brings to Chelsea and Atleti. Gallaher in Madrid is clear, he can walk in and contribute immediately. It's a good signing for them. Felix at Chelsea though, to me, the answer is very little, close to zero need for him, and this is where it starts to get into murky waters.

And if Chelsea, as I suspect, have no PSR issues at the moment, then it just becomes a case of Chelsea doing Atleti or Mendes a favour, which is even murkier.

 

[acnumber9]

The books need to be thrown at clubs blatantly manipulating the rules.

 

[Rozay]

Maybe Felix has said no Villa? I can't imagine why Atleti wouldn't sell him to Villa, if the offer was decent. He's a bottleneck on their finances.

If both clubs have PSR issues they need to deal with (which I would be surprised if Chelsea still do), then it does somewhat explain why Chelsea have pivoted to Felix when the Omorodion deal fell through. In this scenario, they need Gallagher out of the door, with a willing buyer ready, while Atleti need any player of comparable value to Gallagher out of the door too. Atleti get to register a lump sum on the books immediately while amortising Gallagher's deal, while Chelsea do the same in the opposite direction. Mutually beneficial financially.

The problem starts when you start considering what footballing benefit either player brings to Chelsea and Atleti. Gallaher in Madrid is clear, he can walk in and contribute immediately. It's a good signing for them. Felix at Chelsea though, to me, the answer is very little, close to zero need for him, and this is where it starts to get into murky waters.

And if Chelsea, as I suspect, have no PSR issues at the moment, then it just becomes a case of Chelsea doing Atleti or Mendes a favour, which is even murkier.

I think this is what is happening. And it’s happening so blatantly, and is against the spirit of things, if not illegal. The sporting benefits seem to pale in insignificance here. It’s even questionable whether Atleti want Gallagher more than they want Guerra, who costs less. This seems primarily a balance sheet exercise, especially since Omorodion left the equation.

Also, if Chelsea are not in PSR danger, they could also just keep Gallagher if they don’t want Felix, or even if they do. Their treatment of the player has been terrible especially when considering there is no urgent fiscal requirement.

 

[WeePat]

I think this is what is happening. And it’s happening so blatantly, and is against the spirit of things, if not illegal. The sporting benefits seem to pale in insignificance here. It’s even questionable whether Atleti want Gallagher more than they want Guerra, who costs less. This seems primarily a balance sheet exercise, especially since Omorodion left the equation.

Also, if Chelsea are not in PSR danger, they could also just keep Gallagher if they don’t want Felix, or even if they do. Their treatment of the player has been terrible especially when considering there is no urgent fiscal requirement.

For me the only questionable portion of this is Chelsea's interest in Felix. Gallagher would be a very good signing for them, at a pretty reasonable fee. I don't for one minute believe Atleti are chasing Gallagher specifically in an attempt to collude with Chelsea in manipulating the system. I think that part of this situation is legit. So was Omorodion to Chelsea. If that deal hadn't collapsed, this thread wouldn't exist and we wouldn't be here discussing Chelsea and Atleti's relationship.

There could be several explanations for Chelsea's interest in Felix. Some rather murky and dodgy reasons (favour to Mendes), some above board reasons (Chelsea legit think Felix is will help us improve) and some reasons that are straddling the line between fair and murky but ultimately very legal (Chelsea have PSR issues of their own and desperately need Gallagher out of the door).

I'm sure the PR coming out of both clubs when the deals are complete will be strong. Chelsea did want to keep Felix permanently last summer. Poch vetoed it, so there is a world where the owners legit believe Felix would be a great addition to Chelsea.