REVEALED: Why Chelsea failed to beat Tottenham in Xavi Simons transfer

Suraj Radia

21 Sept 2025 12:00 BST
4 min read

Xavi Simons, Chelsea, RB Leipzig — © IMAGO

The agent of Xavi Simons has opened up on the playmaker’s failed transfer to Chelsea, which led to him eventually joining Tottenham from RB Leipzig this summer.

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Simons had spent most of the summer in talks with Chelsea and he had largely been expected to join the Blues after agreeing personal terms with them in early August.

Current ETV

Xavi Simons

AM (C), M (L)

Tottenham

Xavi Simons

AM (C), M (L)

Tottenham

ETV Range

€72M - €88M

However, Chelsea did not make a formal offer for Simons, having been limited in their spending power which meant they could not meet Leipzig’s €65 million asking price.

The situation led to Tottenham swooping for Simons late in the transfer window and the player’s agent, Ali Barat, insists there are no regrets over the way the move developed.

“Tottenham and Chelsea are both fantastic clubs with solid projects and there was real interest from both sides,” Barat told RMC Sport. “But Chelsea was always clear with us, they had certain constraints that made it difficult to move forward with discussions.

“So when the talks with Tottenham started, it became clear that this would be a project that would be a perfect fit for Xavi and I think the discussion he had with Thomas Frank was really key to Xavi's decision.”

The UEFA agreement that shows why Chelsea were unable to afford Simons transfer

Chelsea were keen on signing an attacking midfielder and identified Simons as their top target for the role, which led to weeks of talks with Leipzig over a fee.

© IMAGO - Xavi Simons joined Tottenham this summer.

However, having previously broken UEFA’s financial rules, the Blues were unable to register new signings for the Champions League without first selling players from last season’s Conference League squad for an equal or greater value.

Chelsea eventually ended the window with a profit of around €20m, emphasising the tight margins available to them which prevented them from moving for Simons.

A last-minute loan move was eventually agreed for an alternative in Brighton’s Facundo Buonanotte, which allowed Chelsea to sign an attacking midfielder and avoid further punishment from UEFA by keeping their transfer revenue balanced, albeit at the expense of missing out on Simons to a bitter rival.

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