“I swear i was on a plane to Chelsea” – South American star reveals he was one hour away from signing for Chelsea
In the summer of 2022, Chelsea attempted to sign Edson Alvarez from Ajax, but their offer was abruptly turned down.
In 2022, Edson Alvarez was not able to join Chelsea even though Todd Boehly was prepared to part with a large sum of money.
The following year, he finally signed a £35 million contract to join West Ham, Chelsea’s London rivals, and is currently a vital member of David Moyes’ squad.
Alvarez has now shared his version of events and demonstrated how near he came to joining Chelsea.
“Actually, in year three [at Ajax], I had to go to Chelsea, the plane was waiting for me at the airport,” Alvarez told Fox Sports.
“When Ajax told me you know what: ‘you’re not going’.
“Whether people believe it or not, it doesn’t make any difference to me, I’m the one who is here and the one who is living it.
“I was an hour away from getting on the plane and going to sign for Chelsea and Ajax told me: ‘you’re not going’. So, you’re not leaving, what do you do? There’s no way you’re leaving.”
Just last month, Alvarez’s agent Van Kooperen, expressed his frustration with how the deal was handled.
“Chelsea were prepared to go very far,” Van Kooperen told ESPN’s Goedemorgen Eredivisie show.
“They wanted to do everything they could to bring him to Chelsea.
“But Ajax had no replacement ready, so they weren’t prepared to cooperate. They thought [qualifying for] Champions League football was very important.”
He added: “Chelsea went up to €60million!”
The agent also revealed that the failed move took a mental toll on Alvarez, who felt like he was being held back from growing as a player, after seeing some of his former teammates, like Antony, Lisandro Martinez, Sebastien Haller and Ryan Gravenberch leave for other clubs.
“That made it extra difficult for Edson,” Van Kooperen continued.
“He saw his friends leave the club and it was Chelsea [who wanted him], where he could instantly become the most expensive Mexican football in history. It was difficult for him.”