The miners were not satisfied with the payment system from Arsenal, so the Donetsk club accepted Chelsea’s offer
General director Miner Sergei Palkin spoke about the details of the transition of the Ukrainian midfielder Mikhail Mudrik to London Chelsea.
“I understood everything on Saturday [14 января], when Chelsea representatives arrived – co-owner Behdad Egbali and director of global talent and transfers Paul Winstanley. They arrived in Antalya. I didn’t know they were close [к трансферу], because he communicated with Arsenal in the same way as with Chelsea. Even I can say more: I have met Arsenal more often than Chelsea. Therefore, before this last meeting, Arsenal were close or slightly closer to this deal than Chelsea.
“Before the arrival of Chelsea representatives in Turkey, we were sure that there was no chance of a deal with Arsenal. When they came up with a final offer of €70M plus €30M in bonuses, we sat down and started discussing internally how it would be executed in terms of payouts, fixed part and bonus issues. We realized that we would not close this deal with Arsenal. I told Ed I did my best, but it was impossible.”
“When Chelsea arrived, they just called and said, ‘OK, we know that you were in talks with Arsenal, we know that we are close with some numbers. We want to meet.” I said, “OK, let’s meet.” I told Mudrik, “If I don’t sell you in the winter, we will definitely sell you in the summer. Perhaps in the summer you will cost even more. We were ready to accept different scenarios and took our time.”
Mudrik signed a contract with Chelsea for eight and a half years and took the 15th number in the London club. The transfer amount was 100 million euros. Chelsea are guaranteed to pay 70 million euros, and Shakhtar can receive another 30 million in the form of bonuses.
The Blues are in 10th place in the Premier League standings. In the spring, the club will play in the playoffs of the Champions League.
Source: Sportarena
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