Santos President Andres Rueda has provided insight into the situation surrounding Chelsea’s upcoming signing of Deivid Washington.
Chelsea have secured the signing of the 18-year-old striker ahead of Monaco, sealing the deal for an initial fee of £14.5 million. Additional add-ons amounting to £2.5 million have been deemed as “obligatory.”
Washington is set to follow the path of other Santos talents departing this summer.
Angelo Gabriel had already moved to Chelsea for £13 million, while there was also interest from Roma, who were willing to pay £16 million for striker Marcos Leonardo.
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Santos President Andres Rueda has now opened up about the serious cash flow problem in their club and the outgoing departures. According to the Brazilian publication A Tribuna, he said:
“It was already known, it was in the planning, that we would need to sell at least two players to balance the club’s accounts. That wouldn’t have happened if Marcos Leonardo had been sold, then Deivid wouldn’t have been sold, but it took a while for Marcos’ proposal to arrive.
“It arrived at the very end, when the window was already on the verge of closing. So we had to take action and opted to sell Deivid.”
“Football has a lower revenue than expenditure. If you start today with zero commitments, a year from now you will have a deficit of £12.5m to £16m. How do you cover that? Selling players, there’s no [other] way.”
Chelsea are on the verge of officially confirming the signing of Washington this week. The 18-year-old is expected to be sent on loan to sister club Strasbourg for the upcoming season.
The huge amount given to the Brazilian league team is important in their aspect. The fans are confident that his value will escalate significantly in the near future.
