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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Marc Mayo

Barcelona announce Andreas Christensen arrival on free transfer from Chelsea after financial delay

Barcelona have confirmed Andreas Christensen’s arrival after the Denmark defender left Chelsea.

The centre-back, 26, signs for the LaLiga giants following the expiration of his contract at Stamford Bridge and he joins Franck Kessie in being announced by the club on Monday.

Christensen’s move to Barcelona has been an open secret for some time but was finally confirmed after delays because the Blaugrana are not yet able to register them in their LaLiga squad for the new season.

Reports in Spain claim the club were making last-minute adjustments to both players’ contracts to ensure they were permitted inside Financial Fair Play parameters, amid Barcelona’s financial woe.

Christensen has signed a four-year deal featuring a release clause of £430million.

Barcelona will present the former Chelsea player to the media on Thursday, after Kessie’s press conference on Wednesday to herald his own four-year deal including the same release clause fee.

Last month, Christensen bid farewell to the Blues after a decade in west London. He said: “I was a young boy at Chelsea with all the hopes and fears of a player starting his career, I’m grateful to the whole club for making my dream come true.

“Having spent ten amazing years at this club, I felt now was the right time for a new beginning for me and my family. Mentally the last few months have been tough as it’s not been an easy decision to leave this club and the fans.

“I’m not the most talkative person so sometimes people don’t understand how much the club and the fans mean to me. I will miss the players, staff and everyone here. I wish the best for the club and the fans in the future.”

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