Chelsea Football Club have confirmed reports that they will seek special dispensation from FIFA in order to force through the transfer of Jérémie Boga, a player they currently have out on loan. They refused to rule suing the organisation.
“Jérémie is a player we’ve monitored very closely for a long time, mainly in our youth teams,” Bruce Buck said at the unveiling. “At Rennes, we feel he’s made great progress this year, so we made what we believe to be a highly competitive offer for him. Luckily for us, the offer was accepted and we agreed personal terms with the player.”
Boga signed the lucrative new £150,000-a-week contract at Stamford Bridge where he was introduced to both his former and future teammates. “Signing for this great club is what all us Chelsea loanees dream of,” Boga said, at the time.
However, when Chelsea submitted completed paperwork for the proposed transfer, their application was rejected, as Chelsea’s name was both the buying and selling club. FIFA’s reasoning for the rejection was clear. “We really don’t need any suspicious dealings going through FIFA at the moment,” a FIFA spokesman commented, “this isn’t 2014.” Before adding that a “significant donation to the FIFA foundation, wouldn’t hurt”.
Chelsea hope to argue before a FIFA Appeals Committee that the club “cannot be reasonably expected to keep track of the between 100 to 200 players currently out on loan”. The Chelsea CEO also denied that The Blues have simply run out of players to sign, forcing them to look internally. “Ridiculous, in fact I think bidding for our own players, shows what great taste we’ve got.”
While Buck sees Boga as an exciting prospect, the youngster has been earmarked as “one for the future” and will be immediately loaned out next year, after Chelsea insisted on a loan-back clause in the deal. The Blues are expected to use the special dispensation hearing with FIFA, to question the governing body on laws surrounding loaning a player from one’s own club.
Remarkably the Jérémie Boga saga is not the first time a club has paid twice for the same player. At the height of their powers, Leeds United once paid Derby County double the asking price of the durable Seth Johnson, after deeming the Rams’ £4 million valuation of their own player, “derisory”.
Follow FM Football News on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more “breaking news” like…
