Manchester City have completed the signing of Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea for a joint-British record fee of £125m, taking their Premier League spending in a single transfer window to a record £458m.
The total surpasses Liverpool’s £415m outlay from last summer, although City have also generated about £300m through player sales during the current window.
Fernandez’s move matches the £125m Liverpool paid for Alexander Isak on transfer deadline day last summer. It comes two years after Chelsea signed the Argentina international from Benfica for £107m, which was then a British record.
City and Chelsea negotiated throughout the past 24 hours before reaching an agreement earlier on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old had wanted to join Real Madrid earlier this summer, but the Spanish club eventually ruled out making an offer. Fernandez had also been pushing to leave Chelsea since March and did not change his position.
Chelsea supporters booed him during a friendly against Real Sociedad and again when he came on as a substitute in their Premier League opener at Fulham.
He was not included in Chelsea’s 4-3 Premier League victory over Brighton on Sunday or their 2-0 Carabao Cup win against Luton three days earlier. Reports in Argentina said Fernandez had asked to be left out of the squad.
In an open letter to Chelsea posted on Instagram, Fernandez wrote: “I want you to know that these have not been easy days for me,”
“Writing this is not easy either. The truth is, I haven’t been in a good place.
“From the moment I arrived [at Chelsea], I became obsessed with winning and with bringing this club every trophy that its history deserves.
“We suffered, we cried, I got angry many times, but we also celebrated titles and unforgettable victories. Together, through the good times and the difficult ones.”
Fernandez said Chelsea would “always be in my heart” and described his decision to leave as “difficult”. He added that he would “probably be thinking the same way” as the supporters if he were in their position.
Chelsea had set a deadline of 17:00 BST on 14 August for clubs to submit offers of at least £120m, in an effort to resolve the uncertainty before the beginning of the 2026-27 season.
Fernandez will reunite at City with manager Enzo Maresca, having worked with the Italian during Maresca’s time in charge at Chelsea. Maresca wanted to work with him again after City lost several midfielders this summer.
“I could not be happier to be here, and I am ready for the challenge of helping City continue winning trophies. This is a club built for success,” Fernandez told Manchester City’s website.
“If you look across the squad, City have quality in every area. I want to learn from my new teammates and become a better player.
“I give absolutely everything and I can promise Manchester City that will continue now I’m here.”
The transfer is the second time in two months that City have broken their own club record. Elliot Anderson joined from Nottingham Forest for £116m in July.
Fernandez is the fourth player to move to a Premier League club for at least £100m this summer, following Morgan Rogers’ £117m transfer to Chelsea, Bradley Barcola’s £123m move to Liverpool and Anderson’s arrival at City.
Four midfielders have left the Etihad Stadium during the window. Tijjani Reijnders joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Qadsiah for £52m, Barcelona signed Rodri for £65m, Nico Gonzalez moved to Newcastle for £52m and Bernardo Silva departed earlier in the summer before joining Real Madrid as a free agent.
City have also sold Savio to Tottenham for £75m and will receive a further £60m from the London club next summer when Omar Marmoush’s loan move is made permanent.
Their incoming business has included 18-year-old midfielder Ayoub Bouaddi from Lille for £86m, Brazilian winger Allan Elias for £34m, winger Jeremy Monga and goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli for smaller fees.
City’s spending could increase again, with Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye set to join after the clubs agreed a deal worth up to £65m.
Fernandez’s sale is Chelsea’s second-biggest in history, behind Eden Hazard’s move to Real Madrid in 2019. It also means Chelsea are expected to set a Premier League record for income from player sales.
The departures of Fernandez, Nicolas Jackson to Aston Villa for £65m and Liam Delap to Nottingham Forest for £50m have helped push Chelsea’s summer sales beyond £400m.
That would comfortably exceed the previous record of about £300m, set by Chelsea last season.
Chelsea needed to reduce the size of their squad after finishing 10th last season without a trophy. They are also out of European competition this campaign.
