- 11 hours ago
Lucas Piazon leaves Chelsea on a permanent deal to join Braga
Cameron Smith
- Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
- 2 min read
The longest-serving player at Chelsea, Lucas Piazon, has finally left Stamford Bridge to join Portuguese side Braga on a deal that will run until 2025.
The Brazilian joined Chelsea from Sao Paulo in 2012, after a work permit delayed the start to his career in England, but after a promising first few games, it all went downhill for Piazon.
He managed just three senior appearances for the Blues, and only one in the Premier League, before being loaned out to: Malaga, Vitesse Arnhem, Frankfurt, Reading, Fulham, Chievo, and Rio Ave.
His most recent game for Chelsea was back in 2012, and even an impressive spell at feeder club Vitesse, where he scored 11 and assisted eight, wasn’t enough to give him a chance in the Chelsea first-team.
After a disappointing spell at Frankfurt, where he scored only twice in 23 Bundesliga games, Piazon returned to England with Reading before spending two years at Fulham, where he contributed with 12 goals and nine assists in 57 appearances for the club, and helped them gain promotion back to the Premier League.
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Hope for his Chelsea career was given to Piazon in 2018/19, when he stayed at the club for the first-half of the season, and even appeared on the bench in the League Cup semi-final second leg victory over Tottenham, but he was quickly moved to Chievo afterwards.
In his most recent loan spell at Rio Ave, Piazon helped the side to their best ever finish in the Portuguese top-flight, scoring twice and laying on two assists last season.
His 18-month loan spell at Rio Ave came to an end this month, but Piazon has stayed in Portugal to join Braga, who are managed by former Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea manager Carlos Carvalhal, who was also Piazon’s boss at Rio Ave last season, on a permanent deal.
It marks the end of Piazon’s nightmare spell at Chelsea, with the Brazilian finally able to escape the loan system that the Blues have gained so much success from.
