10/07/2026
🚨⚔️ Cesc Fà bregas on Chelsea selling Andrey Santos to Manchester United:
🗣️“I genuinely don’t understand this decision. You’re selling one of the most talented young midfielders in world football to a direct Premier League rival for £50 million, and then you’re acting as if you’ve done good business. If Andrey Santos becomes the player many believe he will, Chelsea supporters will remember this transfer for years.
“What makes it even more confusing is that Chelsea have decided to keep players who simply haven’t been available. Roméo Lavia has unbelievable quality, nobody doubts that, but football is played on the pitch, not in the treatment room. You cannot build your midfield around potential when injuries keep stopping you from seeing it.
“If a player struggles to stay fit and barely manages a handful of appearances over multiple seasons, while another young midfielder is ready to contribute every week, you have to ask serious questions about the sporting decision. Availability is one of the biggest qualities in football.
“Manchester United won’t care about the criticism. They’ll just be smiling because they’ve signed a player with enormous potential who already understands the intensity of English football. Sometimes your biggest signing isn’t the most expensive it’s the one your rivals let walk away.
“Chelsea have spent years talking about building for the future, and then they let one of their brightest midfield prospects join a club they’ll be competing against every season. That is the part I cannot understand.
“If Andrey Santos goes to Old Trafford and becomes one of the Premier League’s best midfielders, don’t blame bad luck. Look back at this decision. Sometimes clubs don’t lose great players because they have to they lose them because they fail to recognize what they already have.
“Chelsea have taken a massive gamble. Manchester United may have just picked up one of the bargains of the decade. Time will tell who got it right, but if Santos explodes the way many expect, Stamford Bridge will be asking one question for a very longtime Why did we let him go?"
