Well folks, we are well and truly heading into yet another silly season in the world of football, and unfortunately we can fully expect Chelsea to be involved in all the drama judging by these early developments.
On Saturday night it was claimed in the Portuguese press that Sporting Lisbon midfielder Manuel Ugarte was joining Chelsea, this was a claim that was backed up by most of the top sources although none of them were saying it was a done deal like in Portugal – that proved to be wise.
Sources: Have Chelsea really made an offer for Lionel Messi?
Because then on Sunday evening, very late in fact, reports came out that Ugarte’s move to Chelsea was off and the midfielder was actually now likely to be joining PSG instead.
Exclusive: Chelsea have pulled out of the race for Manuel Ugarte. More to follow
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) June 4, 2023
For those of us wanting a peaceful and quite Sunday, that will never happen during silly season, and the transfer window isn’t even open yet!
This morning more is starting to come out on why the deal collapsed, and it seems PSG have just offered Ugarte better wages to join them.
Manuel Ugarte to Chelsea is off. Sporting Lisbon midfielder looked likely to join but has been offered much bigger wages by PSG. #cfc
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) June 5, 2023