Fernandez Completes £125 Million Move to Manchester City

Manchester City have completed the £125 million signing of Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea, matching the British transfer record and pushing their spending to a Premier League high of £458 million in a single transfer window.

City have also raised about £300 million through player sales this summer. The Fernandez agreement followed negotiations between the clubs over the previous 24 hours and came after Chelsea set a deadline of 5 p.m. British time on August 14 for offers of at least £120 million.

Fernandez joined Chelsea from Benfica in 2023 for a then-record British fee of £107 million. His latest transfer matches the amount Liverpool paid for Alexander Isak on transfer deadline day last summer. He becomes the fourth player to join a Premier League club for at least £100 million this summer, following Morgan Rogers, Bradley Barcola and City’s own signing of Elliot Anderson.

The 25-year-old Argentina international had reportedly wanted to move to Real Madrid earlier in the summer. Chelsea supporters booed him during a friendly against Real Sociedad and again when he came on as a substitute in the league opener at Fulham. He did not play in Chelsea’s wins over Brighton or Luton, amid reports in Argentina that he had asked to be left out of the squad.

Fernandez previously worked with City manager Enzo Maresca during Maresca’s time at Chelsea. Maresca wants to work with him again after City lost several midfielders this summer. The move marks the second time in two months that City have broken their own transfer record, following Anderson’s £116 million arrival from Nottingham Forest in July.