Exclusive: Chelsea refused to pay asking price for star who’s now sealing transfer to another elite club, says expert

Fabrizio Romano has provided some insight into why Chelsea have ended up being beaten to the transfer of Brazilian wonderkid Gabriel Moscardo, who is instead joining Paris Saint-Germain.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, the transfer news expert explained that Chelsea had an interest in Moscardo but were unwilling to pay Corinthians’ asking price for the teenage midfielder.

Moscardo looks one of the most exciting prospects in world football at the moment and would surely have been a fine addition to this promising young squad Chelsea are putting together, but it seems they had no intention of paying €22-23m for him.

By contrast, it seems PSG chief Luis Campos made a big effort to land Moscardo, so he’ll become a PSG player instead, in what looks like a smart piece of business for the Ligue 1 giants.

Discussing Moscardo and past links with Chelsea, Romano said: “Chelsea were also interested in Gabriel Moscardo back in August but they never wanted to spend €22/23m fee for the talented young midfielder, who is now joining PSG.”

He added: “Chelsea’s plan was to offer way less and Corinthians rejected, so it was never close or almost done. PSG chief Luis Campos made the difference for Moscardo, he travelled to Brazil to scout Moscardo in person and to open negotiations for the Brazilian wonderkid.”

It will be interesting to see if Chelsea live to regret this decision, as that kind of fee could one day look like an absolute bargain for Moscardo if he lives up to his potential.