A few days after Pedro was set to join Manchester United, the Barcelona winger actually ended up signing with Chelsea FC instead.
By Connor Orchard
Chelsea FC confirmed the deal to sign Pedro Rodriguez on their Twitter account on Thursday morning. The deal is set to be worth up to £21.1 million, which is supposedly £19m paid up front and £2.1m in bonuses.
The 28-year-old has accumulated three Champions Leagues and five La Liga titles, as well as being a world and European champion on the international stage.
.@CHELSEAFC IS DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THE SIGNING OF @_PEDRO17_ FROM BARCELONA: HTTP://T.CO/WCHMUQVYCFPIC.TWITTER.COM/C3U9XDMWBI
— CHELSEA FC (@CHELSEAFC) AUGUST 20, 2015
Manchester United were expected to finalise a deal with the 29-year-old Spaniard for a number of days now, as Pedro did agree to terms with the club. Although thanks to Victor Valdes, Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas and his girlfriend, they actually managed to convince Pedro to join Chelsea instead.
Fabregas’s partner Daniella Semaan was asked to make contact with Pedro’s partner, Carolina Martin, and was able to sell London to her. The other halves of Fabregas and Pedro and understood to be good friends, and the report suggest Semaan phoned Martin to discuss life in London before Pedro decided to move to Manchester.
Chelsea acted quickly without delay unlike Manchester United, and the deal was finalised within a matter of hours. Pedro’s family also preferred to live in the capital of Britain, not Manchester when making the decision.
Of course, Twitter reacted to the news of Pedro signing for Chelsea instead of Man United fantastically.
How Twitter saw #Pedro to Chelsea #cfc #mufc ? | @RyanJayBailey http://t.co/v20sFkZk2B https://t.co/h4aH1xbiBC — Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) August 19, 2015
MOURINHO HIJACKING PEDRO LIKE HTTPS://T.CO/FYWBIDIADB — S. (@LMAOSIMON) AUGUST 19, 2015
In his first interview with Chelsea TV, Pedro had this to say:
“I am very happy to be here. I am very excited to start my adventure at Chelsea and I am here to keep winning titles,” he told the club’s website. “Thanks to the club and the supporters for giving me the opportunity to put the blue shirt on.”
Pedro underwent a medical at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, and may make his debut as early as Sunday, when Chelsea take on West Brom at The Hawthorns. With this deal, it is now looking more and more likely that Juan Cuadrado will be moved away from the club, less than nine months after his move from Fiorentina.
Chelsea are now looking to further strengthen their squad, by trying to complete a move for Everton centre-back John Stones, and Juventus Midfielder Paul Pogba, which could set the club back over £100m.
Everton boss Roberto Martinez said that he is not aware of any transfer request made by defender John Stones. Everton have rejected bids of £20m, and £26m and have refused to comment on a third offer made by Chelsea, but reports say that the club have made an offer of up to £35m for the young Englishman.
The odds of the club signing Paul Pogba are slim though, as Juventus are reportedly asking up to £80m for the young midfielder. Although they are said to be interested in numerous Chelsea players such as Juan Cuadrado and Oscar.
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