PSG agree deal to sign David Luiz from Chelsea
They may have just been sanctioned by UEFA for breaching Financial Fair Play rules but Paris Saint-Germain is showing no sign of putting away the checkbook.
The French champions
announced an agreement has been reached with Chelsea late Friday to sign
Brazil international defender David Luiz subject to the player passing a
medical and agreeing personal terms.
Neither club confirmed
the extent of the fee agreed although reports earlier in the day had
suggested a figure in the region of £40 million ($67 million) was
likely.
"Paris Saint Germain,
Chelsea and David Luiz would like to confirm that they reached an
agreement regarding the terms of an upcoming transfer of the Brazilian
defender that would occur during the next transfer window which is due
to start on 10th June 2014," read a statement released by PSG.
"In accordance with the
player's wish to prepare for and play in the World Cup in his home
country in the best possible conditions, both clubs and David Luiz
wished to reach an agreement as soon as possible."
If the $67 million fee
reported is correct it will make Luiz the most expensive defender ever,
overtaking the $57 million PSG paid to sign Thiago Silva from AC Milan
in 2012.
How the Parisians aim to
incorporate the deal into their commitments to comply with UEFA's new
financial regulations remains unclear, however.
Selling players or increasing revenues is a possibility but president Nasser al-Khelaifi has publicly stated his intention to continue to invest in the team.
PSG were sanctioned last
week along with English champions Manchester City for breaking FFP rules
which aim to stop clubs getting into unmanageable debt or allow wealthy
benefactors to give top teams and unfair advantage.
Backed by the Qatar
Investment Authority, PSG have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on
some of the world's best players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edison Cavani
and Ezequiel Lavezzi in recent years.
The club claimed any
losses incurred on these transfers was wiped out with a huge and
back-dated sponsorship deal with the Qatar Tourist Authority but UEFA
concluded that although this deal was valid it was heavily overvalued.
As a result, PSG were
found to have exceeded the permitted losses of $62 million over the
course of the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons and accepted a fine of $83
million and a squad capped at 21 players rather than the usual 25 for
next season's Champions League campaign.
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