Enzo Fernández to Chelsea: from his absence in the World Cup album to being the most expensive Argentine in history and reaching the Premier in a year

The closing of the transfer market in Europe is looking more and more like a show, something similar to what happens with the NBA Draft.

The different series that streaming platforms show and that follow the clubs throughout a season have a lot to do with this.

An outstanding chapter is always the last day of the transfer book.

There are anxieties, negotiations, thousands of cell phone calls, joys and sadness.

And

, the boy who left River, the midfielder who entered through the back door in Qatar, the footballer who was vital for Lionel Scaloni, the player chosen as the best Under-23 in the World Cup, was the star protagonist of a new closure: finally,

and

They reached an agreement and he will play in the Premier League in exchange for 121 million euros.

Some astonishing data: the amount paid by Fernández is the highest in history for an Argentine player.

Also the highest in the Premier League.

And much more: he becomes the sixth most expensive in history, but the best midfielder, because the rest are all offensive.

Photo: ALEJANDRO PAGNI / AFP.

Fernández's football career maintains a vertigo rarely seen

.

He made his River debut on March 4, 2020 (3-0 loss to Liga de Quito in Ecuador for the Copa Libertadores);

days before the coronavirus pandemic broke out in the country, he went on loan to Defense and Justice to earn filming, he returned to 'Millionaire and shone;

he was sold to Benfica of Portugal for 18 million euros;

he debuted in the Argentine National Team months before the World Cup;

Almost at the last moment he was included in the list by Scaloni and went from substitute to undisputed starter.

.

Now, the latest milestone for him is his transfer to Chelsea in a record number and a long contract signed until June 2031;

that is, more than 8 years long (the same as Marcelo Gallardo was in River, for example).

Fernández is barely 22 years old: he was born on January 17, 2001. And 121 million euros have already been paid for him, when he has only accumulated

(114 at club level and 10 with the National Team) and 17 goals.

.

Everyone wins when Enzo goes to England

.

Chelsea is left with one of the best midfielders in the world, with a projection without a ceiling.

The footballer will sign a juicy contract for more than 8 seasons.

Benfica bought it for 18 million euros, used it for only five months (it made its debut on September 23, 2022) and sold it for 121. And River, which had kept 25 percent of the midfielder's token, will bag a figure over 30 million.

The number is surprising, of course, because Enzo (

) happens to be the most expensive midfielder in football history.

And it is known: it is not common to pay a similar figure for a midfielder who can play inside or even stop.

His irruption in the World Cup in Qatar is decisive for his assessment, beyond the fact that in the Champions League he had already shown his hierarchy.

According to the site specialized in transfers, Transfermarkt, Paris Saint Germain paid 222 million euros for Neymar in 2017 and the same club paid 180 for Kylian Mbappé in 2018. The podium is completed by Frenchman Ousmane Dembelé, who left Borussia Dortmund for Barcelona at change of 140 million.

The Catalan team deposited 135 million to Liverpool for the Brazilian Coutinho and in fifth place on the list appears the Portuguese Joao Félix, for whom Atlético de Madrid paid 127 million, precisely to Benfica.

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A select place in the market

Source:

Infographic:

And Fernández is the maximum among the Argentines.

A question arises as a game:

Nobody ever paid as much for an Argentine as Chelsea did with the one born in San Martín.

The midfielder dethroned Gonzalo Pipa Higuaín, who left Napoli for Juventus for 90 million euros in 2016. The second and third places corresponded to Ángel Di María: from Real Madrid to Manchester for 75 million and from England to PSG for 63 Now, the fifth step was for Lisandro Martínez, another member of the Scaleneta, for whom Manchester United paid 57 million.

Fernández's arrival at Chelsea will put the magnifying glass on the English cast, where he arrives to be a genius and a figure after Jorginho's departure to Arsenal.

In May of last year, the American consortium led by Todd Boehly, co-owner of the LA Dodgers baseball team, bought the club from eccentric Russian Roman Abramovich.

Since then, the new owners have spent 610 million euros this season.

In addition to Fernández, they paid 80 million for the defender Wesley Fofana, 70 for the Ukrainian Mudryk, 65 for the Spanish winger Cucurella, 56 for the striker Sterling and 38 for the Cameroonian Kulibaly, among others, in addition to paying 11 million for the loan of Joao Felix.

Will a financial warning come for the team that is tenth in the Premier League?

Oblivious to all the numbers will be Enzo Fernández, who has already traveled to England to join his new club.

He will try to get fast under the orders of coach

to debut and to continue writing history.