Barcelona sign Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie on free transfers; both players sign four-year contracts with release clauses of £430m; Christensen ends 10-year stay at Chelsea where he won five major honours; Kessie departs AC Milan after five seasons
Monday 4 July 2022 15:50, UK
Barcelona have completed the free transfers of Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen and AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie.
Both players have signed four-year contracts at the Nou Camp and have release clauses of £430m.
Christensen's move to Spain ends his 10-year stay at Chelsea, where he won the FA Cup, Champions League, Europa League, Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.
The Blues announced last month the 26-year-old would be leaving Stamford Bridge this summer at the expiration of his contract.
After his Chelsea departure was confirmed, Christensen wrote on Instagram: "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 10 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."
The Danish international, who played 161 games in all competitions for Chelsea, becomes the second senior centre-back to leave the club this summer after Antonio Rudiger's free transfer to Real Madrid.
Christensen's arrival at Barcelona was announced just hours after the Spanish giants confirmed the signing of Kessie.
The 25-year-old, who had been playing for AC Milan since 2017, is set to become just the second Ivorian to play for Barcelona after Yaya Toure.
Kessie joins Barca having helped AC Milan win their first Serie A title in 11 years last season.
Sky Sports News reported Tottenham were interested in signing Kessie in the January transfer window and were in talks with the former Atalanta man about a free transfer in the summer.
The Catalans, however, wrapped up a deal for Kessie weeks ago but needed to balance their Financial Fair Play ratio before they were able to register new players in their squad.
Last week, the club agreed to sell a 10 per cent stake in their La Liga TV rights for the next 25 years to US private equity group Sixth Street for £178.5m.
Who will be on the move this summer before the transfer window closes at 11pm on September 1?
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
