Brighton sell Moises Caicedo to Chelsea for British record £115m
Brighton & Hove Albion have sold the third-most expensive footballer in history and the most expensive British transfer of all time with Moises Caicedo joining Chelsea for £115 million.
Confirmation of Caicedo’s move to Stamford Bridge brings to an end an eight-month long saga started in January when Chelsea offered £55 million for the services of the Ecuador international.
Brighton have now taken more than double that amount from Todd Boehly and with a generous sell-on clause inserted into the deal. Handy for when Caicedo moves to Real Madrid in two years time for an even bigger fee.
It cements Tony Bloom and the Albion’s place as masters of the transfer market. Countless so-called experts on Twitter said Chelsea would not go above £80 million for Caicedo.
Blues supporters said Brighton would fold below £100 million, on account of the fact Chelsea have won two Champions League titles. They all underestimated Bloom again.
The Moises Caicedo to Chelsea transfer represents the most stunning success for the recruitment department at Brighton yet.
Caicedo was signed for just £4.5 million from Independiente del Valle in January 2021. The Seagulls swooped after Manchester United gave up trying to cut through a tangled web of third party ownership and different agents claiming to represent Caicedo. One United official famously described the situation as a “clusterf**k.”
Brighton, however, had experience in such matters having bought the lesser-spotted Billy Arce from Independiente for £1 million in August 2018.
Arce had a quite wonderful Albion career consisting of zero appearances for Brighton. He went on four different loans with four different clubs and spent 20 days during one of those in an Ecuadorian jail for drink driving.
More importantly, Independiente were suitably impressed with the Albion during negotiations for Arce that they wanted to help Brighton strike a deal for Caicedo.
That duly happened, although it would be another 16 months before Caicedo was seen in the Premier League. After making his Albion debut in a 2-0 Carabao Cup win at Cardiff City, he moved on loan to Belgian side Beerschot for the 2021-22 season
Caicedo hardly pulled up any trees in the Jupiler League and was recalled early by Brighton. It came as something of a surprise when Graham Potter named him in the starting XI away at Arsenal in April 2022.
Brighton were in the midst of a barren run of six consecutive losses followed by a 0-0 home draw against rock bottom Norwich City. The Seagulls had scored just once in those seven matches.
That woeful sequence of results came to an end as the Albion pulled off a big shock by winning 2-1 at the Emirates.
Brighton lost only two of their next 14 games spread across the end of the 2021-22 and the start of the 2022-23 season with Moises Caicedo in the side, leading to Glow Up Graham getting the Chelsea job.
Under Roberto De Zerbi, Caicedo became an even more important influence. His ability to win back possession, find his way out of tight spaces, pick a pass and cover an insane amount of ground from one end of the pitch to the other made him perfectly suited to De Zerbi’s 4-2-3-1.
Playing as one of the two defensive midfielders alongside either Alexis Mac Allister or Pascal Gross, Caicedo went from strength to strength. This was especially true after January, when Arsenal had a failed bid of £70 million following Chelsea’s derisory £55 million offer.
Caicedo – or rather his agent – put out a message on Instagram begging Brighton to sell him to the Gunners. The stunt though backfired and Caicedo was placed on gardening leave until the transfer window had slammed shut.
The Albion had no intention of selling halfway through a season when European qualification and winning the FA Cup were possibilities.
Arsenal fans were livid, expecting Caicedo to down tools and impact squad harmony. They said the Albion would rue not allowing him to move to the Emirates, predicting Brighton falling away from their top six challenge whilst the Gunners went onto lift the Premier League title.
Instead, Caicedo knuckled down and was better than ever. His attitude following the failed Arsenal bid was exemplary. He even signed a new long-term Brighton contract in March.
Where Caicedo has been badly let down is by his advisers. He comes across as a young man who just wants to play football, making his family and country proud.
With that comes a certain degree of naivety, something which his greedy agents have shamelessly exploited with some pretty poor advice.
From a footballing perspective, Caicedo would have been better off going to Liverpool following their submission of a £110 million bid.
The Redmen are far less of a basketcase than Chelsea and with Mac Allister having moved to Anfield earlier in the summer, Caicedo would have been reunited with his trusted midfield partner.
Caicedo though apparently had his heart set on Chelsea. Or more likely, his agents did for a larger slice of commission. They see Caicedo as a cash cow. He deserves better than that.
That refusal to talk to Liverpool left the ball in Boehly’s court. Either Chelsea matched or bettered the Redmen’s bid or Caicedo was stuck in limbo.
This admittedly worked out well for Brighton, meaning an even bigger fee and that potentially lucrative release clause.
Caicedo leaves having played 53 times for Brighton. A profit of £110.5 million means the Albion have earned just over £2 million per appearance Caicedo made. He scored twice.
Whilst the manner of his departure has been disappointing, Caicedo should still be remembered for the huge part he played in turning Brighton into a club about to enter the Europa League for the first time.
It also means Brighton fans can get back to a life where interactions with arrogant, self-entitled Chelsea supporters are at a minimum. Or at least until they bid £237 million for Pervis Estupinan in January.
