Luiz set to join Ligue 1 giants PSG

Brazil defender to fetch Chelsea £40-50 million.

LONDON:

French champions Paris St Germain (PSG) have agreed terms with Chelsea to sign Brazil defender David Luiz, said the clubs late Friday.

“The move is now subject to Luiz agreeing personal terms with PSG and passing a medical examination,” said Premier League club Chelsea on their website.

British media reported that the versatile 27-year-old would command a world record fee for a defender of between £40 million and £50 million. That would surpass the £36 million Qatari-backed PSG paid for Luiz’s Brazil teammate Thiago Silva in 2012, although neither club disclosed the financial terms of their agreement.

The easily recognisible Luiz, with his long and shaggy hair, joined Chelsea in January, 2011 from Benfica for about £21 million and helped the west London side win the Champions League for the first time the following year.

Strong, energetic and armed with a powerful shot, Luiz likes to venture forward but can be somewhat erratic and prone to the odd defensive lapse. He has made 143 appearances for Chelsea in 3-1/2 seasons at Stamford Bridge, scoring 12 goals.

PSG, who strolled to the Ligue 1 title but lost to Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals, were last week fined up to £48 million and had their squad capped for next season’s European campaign after breaching Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules.

Wealthy Premier League champions Manchester City were hit with the same punishment and as part of their settlement with European soccer’s governing body, both clubs also agreed to curbs on transfer spending over the next two seasons.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2014.

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