Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo has explained why he snubbed a transfer to Liverpool – and issued a defiant response to his slow start to life at Stamford Bridge.
Caicedo completed his move to Chelsea in August for a British record fee worth £115million following a fierce and unexpected battle with the Reds. He ended his stint with Brighton & Hove Albion and dented Jurgen Klopp’s plans to strengthen further his Liverpool midfield following the arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
The battle for Caicedo was a well-publicised but swift tug-of-war between Mauricio Pochettino and the German. Brighton had first accepted the Reds’ shock offer before the Londoners, who had long been interested, lodged an approach of their own to swoop on the Ecuador international.
And Caicedo has now claimed that Liverpool entered the race too late as Chelsea won the battle to end the transfer saga.
“I chose Chelsea because I was talking with them first and then it was impossible not to choose them. They were with me, supporting me because in the summer I suffered a lot because it was complicated to leave Brighton,” he said.
“They were with me. In the last moment, Liverpool called me but it was late. It was too late, you know? I wanted to play for Chelsea and the people that worked here were with me through every moment and it was tough to say no to Chelsea.
“It’s Chelsea, you know. At Chelsea, you always have to win every game and if you don’t, you’ll feel the pressure. I’ve only been here for four months, everything is new for me and I think it’s about time. It’ll take time because I know my quality, I know my teampmates and it’ll be our time.”
Chelsea sit 12th in the Premier League. Sunday’s defeat to Everton was their seventh in the opening 16 matches despite another free-spending summer.
While Liverpool suffered disappointment in the pursuit of Caicedo and then Romeo Lavia, in contrast they currently sit top ahead of Sunday’s showdown with Manchester United at Anfield.
