Moises Caicedo has revealed that Liverpool declared their interest “too late” in the transfer window, with the midfielder having already decided that he wanted to join Chelsea by then.
Liverpool and Chelsea were embroiled in bidding war to sign Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion during the summer transfer window. He eventually took his talents to Stamford Bridge for what was a new a British record fee of £115m.
The Reds had earlier seen a £111m bid accepted by Brighton for the then 21-year-old. However, in an interview with Sky Sports, Caicedo has confirmed that he had preferred to join Chelsea because they had shown an interest in his services earlier.
“I was talking with Chelsea for a long time. It was impossible to say no to Chelsea, because they were with me supporting me”, he explained.
“In the summer I suffered a lot because it was complicated to leave Brighton. They were with me, and in the last moment Liverpool called me but it was [too] late because I wanted to play for Chelsea. It was tough to say no to Chelsea.”
Things haven’t exactly gone to plan for Chelsea and their record signing since the transfer, with the midfielder struggling for form in a wholly-underperforming Blues team.
Speaking about his start to life at Stamford Bridge, the 22-year-old admitted that he enduring a “bad time” currently, yet is confident of getting back to his best soon under coach Mauricio Pochettino.
“Right now, this is a bad time for me, and my family is suffering a lot because they read and listen to the things people say about me that are not good,” Caicedo said.
“It’s hard. It’s hard for me. I try to be strong, because football is like this. I am prepared for this.
“He [Pochettino] protects me from the criticism. He has been really kind and patient with me.
“He knows who I am and that is why he is relaxed with me. I’m only here four months; I didn’t do a good pre-season because it was tough for me. I’m sure I’m going to really show my quality, to show who I am.”
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