Malang Sarr was supposed to join Le Havre in January on free transfer, having been previously transfer-listed by Chelsea. However, the deal didn’t go through and the defender remained at the Bridge.
The Frenchman earns £100,000 per week but, as the Athletic report, was desperate to leave the Blues as he wanted to play.
He had initially asked to have the remainder of his salary to be paid in full before agreeing to leave the club. Then he reached an agreement with Chelsea to receive over 50% of the money he’s owed until June next year.
The defender went to Le Havre only for Chelsea to tell him they will pay him a lower percentage. He agreed to new terms and completed a medical with the French side. However, ‘minutes before the deadline’ the Blues called him to say that the deal was off as they won’t agree to pay him anything.
Chelsea’s position on this is different from the player’s. They insist that by waiving a fee (Sarr was supposed to join Le Havre on free transfer) they are right to not pay anything to the Frenchman. Not asking for a fee was, they insist, a gesture of goodwill. The Blues also insist the collapse of the transfer is Sarr’s fault, because he didn’t want to play on a relatively low salary at Le Havre.
Le Havre’s stance is closer to the player’s side than that of the Blues.
“What Chelsea did to Malang Sarr was disgraceful,” the French club’s sporting director Mathieu Bodmer told Paris Normandie.
“With just a few details still to be worked out, they did a U-turn. They gave the youngster the go-ahead to travel, and a financial agreement had been reached for the 18 months of his remaining contract at Chelsea.
“However, on several occasions, they went back on their agreement, and then gave it again. And once the player had agreed to make a big effort, to come to us on a tiny salary, just to play football, they blocked him.
“Everything was OK, the contract had even been submitted to the league (LFP), but we never received Chelsea’s cancellation. In the end, they just told him he wouldn’t be leaving and they didn’t even answer the phone anymore.”