It’s a struggle from a distance in this summer transfer window. A struggle that leaves traces. And might have consequences. FC Barcelona and Chelsea have been engaged in a duel on a few issues since the opening of this transfer market. And for the moment, the Catalan club comes out as the big winner like the Jules Koundé file, to the point of annoying on the banks of the Thames.
If the Blues tried to interfere in the soap opera Robert Lewandowski without believing it too much, but wanting to be opportunistic, just like in the case of Ousmane Dembélé, the London club especially saw Raphinha slipping away from under his nose to join Catalonia. The former Rennais had however been announced close at one point to Chelsea, but today he is a Catalan player. And the same story might happen once more with Jules Koundé, mentioned a step away from London last week before a turnaround this weekend according to the Catalan press.
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Raphinha – Barcelona
Credit: Getty Images
Tuchel no longer hides his annoyance
To make matters worse, Andreas Christensen also signed up with FC Barcelona in early July. Approached for a long time by Barça, the Danish international arrived free… from Chelsea following having refused offers to extend his contract with the Blues. All this is starting to do a lot. Especially since the Blaugrana, reinvigorated following finding financial levers to get their accounts out of the red and afford more margin on this transfer window, do not want to stop there. The names of Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso have also been mentioned for a long time, the two Chelsea players being tempted by the Barcelona sirens. We are no longer in the anecdote at this level.
This weekend, Thomas Tuchel has also revealed in broad daylight the annoyance that is beginning to settle in Chelsea. Asked regarding the Azpilicueta file, the former PSG coach let go. “Maybe I’m a little pissed off (note: by the approach of Barça). I’m not sure I want to give Azpi what he wants. At some point it’s also regarding uslaunched the German technician to the Times. Now it’s a bit difficult for him because the other club is on him. Constantly on him and it causes distractions. But at the latest, September 1st normally, when things calm down and it will be clearer, I am very convinced that he might play at his highest level.“.
Boehly thinks of “revenge”, the networks have fun
Obviously a little drunk on this subject and the behavior of Barça, Tuchel would not be the only one in this case at Chelsea. According to the English press but also the Catalan daily Sport, the Blues now intend to block “Azpi” and Marcos Alonso this summer, as the German explains below. But it doesn’t stop there. According to the tabloid Express, Todd Boehly, the new boss at Stanford Bridge, is considering launching an offensive on several Barça players (Ansu Fati, Gavi, Ronald Araujo, etc.) to take “revenge”.
This London dissatisfaction even goes beyond the framework of the board and the staff. On social networks, English supporters are increasingly talking regarding their annoyance with the Barcelona institution, while Cules fans revel in these well-negotiated cases repeatedly by their club. A small rivalry on the networks begins to emerge. It remains to be seen who will emerge as the big winner in a few months.
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