What started off as a semi-normal transfer war between Chelsea and Barcelona has gone viral. Fabrizio Romano tweeted out confirmation that Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella agreed to join Chelsea, but Brighton tweeted that the claim is completely false. So which one is it? Is Romano wrong for the first time ever, or is he so good at his job that he knows a transfer is happening before the club even does?
After tweeting out updates over the past few weeks, Romano finally posted a clear message Wednesday saying the transfer was done and announcements were imminent. An hour or so later, Brighton responded with a tweet of its own, saying “no agreement has been reached with any club to sell Marc Cucurella.”
Been told Marc Cucurella will sign contract valid until June 2028, six year deal as new Chelsea player. Personal terms were agreed since Monday morning. #CFC
Full agreement between clubs for bit more than £50m fee. More details to follow on Levi Colwill too.It’s done. pic.twitter.com/RxE6OeAMK9
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 3, 2022
CLUB STATEMENT: MARC CUCURELLA.
Contrary to inaccurate reports from numerous media outlets this evening, no agreement has been reached with any club to sell Marc Cucurella.— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 3, 2022
At the same time, an eerily similar situation occurred in the Formula 1 world as French team Alpine tweeted out confirmation that its reserve driver, Oscar Piastri, would be driving for the team next season. 10 hours later, Piastri responded by shutting this down, saying “I will not be driving for Alpine next year.”
2023 driver line-up confirmed: Esteban Ocon Oscar Piastri
After four years as part of the Renault and Alpine family, Reserve Driver Oscar Piastri is promoted to a race seat alongside Esteban Ocon starting from 2023. pic.twitter.com/4Fvy0kaPn7— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) August 2, 2022
I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) August 2, 2022
So what is the truth? It seems that Brighton managed to attract a decent amount of attention giving them more bargaining power against Chelsea. They signed Levi Colwill on loan in addition to a reported $75 million transfer fee for the Spanish left-back.
Marc Cucurella deal details #CFC
▫️ Chelsra pay £55m guaranteed fee plus £7m add-ons;▫️ Record transfer fee for a left back;
▫️ Cucurella signs until 2028;
▫️ Brighton sign Lewi Colwill on a loan deal without buy option.
Here’s Cucu first pic as new Chelsea player ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/aFlce1gQmK
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 5, 2022
CLUB STATEMENT: MARC CUCURELLA.
Following reports from numerous media outlets this week, we can confirm an agreement has been reached with Brighton and Hove Albion for the signing of Marc Cucurella.— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 5, 2022
Once again, Fabrizio Romano remains undefeated. How does he do it? How does he beat a club to its own punch? It seems we will never know the tricks of the trade but he certainly seems to enjoy proving people wrong on Twitter.
…not me. ♂️ https://t.co/sGFnnpgiag
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 5, 2022
Never change Fabrizio.
