NOW DEAL FOR CHRISTENSEN IS UNDER SCRUTINY
‘FOOTBALL LEAKS’ CLAIMS CHELSEA PAID HIS FATHER AS A SCOUT IN BID TO GET ROUND STRICT GUIDELINES
CHELSEA’S signing of Andreas Christensen is the latest to come under scrutiny amid claims they could be banned by FIFA from buying players for two years.
The club’s fans are already alarmed by reports from French website Mediapart that FIFA have recommended Chelsea are not allowed to make any signings for four transfer windows as part of their three-year investigation into the acquisition of Bertrand Traore and 13 other players.
But Danish paper Politiken, which, like Mediapart, acquired information from Football Leaks, alleges Chelsea may have also circumvented rules when acquiring Christensen from Brondby in 2012. There are strict guidelines in place that parents of players are not offered cash incentives by clubs who want to sign a player. An internal document is said to show he was paid a ‘parental salary’ of five million kroner, about £600,000.
Football Leaks suggests Chelsea employed Christensen’s father, Sten, who also acts as his agent, to be a talent scout — even though he had not been one before.
When Politiken put the accusations to Sten Christensen, he is quoted as saying: “It’s a story you’ve got from some Ukrainians or something like that. I have no comment at all… stop calling me again.”
Andreas Christensen was 15 when he left Brondby for Chelsea and has gone on to become a Denmark international. The 22-year-old centre-half is now worth £25million in the transfer mar- ket, despite not being a first-team regular at Stamford Bridge this term.
Chelsea are quoted in Politiken saying: “We do not comment on speculation about confidential contracts or player-related cases.”
The club did not respond to Standard Sport’s request for comment before publication this morning.
It is another unwelcome distraction amid suggestions FIFA’s integrity and compliance unit want to punish them severely for flouting rules over the signing of players under 18-years-old.
Five Premier league clubs, including Chelsea, are being looked into. However, sources close to the investigation say no suggestion of a transfer ban has been made to Chelsea. Traore signed his first pro contract with Chelsea when he was 18 in January 2013. Chelsea have admitted they paid his mother £155,000, plus £13,000 to the club she was chairman of, AJE Bobo-Dioulasso, in April 2011 to allow them first refusal over his signature.
A Chelsea statement said: “The club has fully cooperated with FIFA and has provided comprehensive evidence demonstrating its compliance with the applicable FIFA regulations.”