Cesar Azpilicueta to Barcelona: What is the state of play?
FT Desk
- Updated: 10 Jul 2022 21:24 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona are in negotiations to sign Cesar Azpilicueta from Chelsea, but what is the current status of the deal?
According to the Evening Standard, Azpilicueta has already agreed personal terms with the Blaugrana on a contract worth €13 million per year.
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This means that for the transfer to be completed a transfer fee needs to be agreed between Chelsea and Barcelona.
How much do Chelsea want for Azpilicueta?
Chelsea are understood to be requesting €8.3m in order to sell Azpilicueta, the same fee they paid for him from Marseille back in 2012.
Barcelona are not prepared to pay that amount, with reports in Spain saying they value the defender at closer to €3m.
But there is optimism they can bridge the gap during negotiations.
This is also because there is a desire on Azpilicueta to make the move to Barcelona, who have been interested in the player for at least a year now.
Chelsea also are aware that they are not in a strong negotiating position because Azpilicueta’s contract expires in 2023.
New Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has travelled to Barcelona to negotiate the deal.
Barca are revolutionising their defence this summer. They have already snapped up Andreas Christensen on a free transfer from Chelsea, while they are also interested in Marco Alonso.
Azpilicueta will likely be the replacement for Dani Alves at right-back, with the Brazil legend leaving on a free transfer this summer.
The 32-year-old Azpilicueta can also play at centre-back and is capable of playing in both a back-four or back-three, or even as a wing-back.
He has made 476 appearances for Chelsea, winning two Premier League titles and a Champions League.
