Chelsea announced the signing of Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion on an eight-year contract on Monday, breaking the British transfer record for the second time in a year.

Financial terms were not published, but British media reported that Chelsea will pay 115 million pounds ($145.96 million), breaking the London club's previous record fee of 106 million pounds paid to recruit Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in January.

Caicedo has four years left on his Brighton contract but had informed the club that he wants to depart. When Arsenal came knocking in January, he was rejected for a transfer and signed a contract extension in March.

chelsea and liverpool were in a close-season battle over caicedo after the merseyside club's manager, juergen klopp, claimed last week that they had reached an agreement with brighton to acquire him. 

Chelsea had multiple offers for Caicedo rejected until Liverpool stepped in with an offer, but the Ecuadorean chose to join Mauricio Pochettino's West London team.

Chelsea's purchase of Caicedo means the club has spent more than $1 billion in player transfer fees since the club was taken over by new ownership led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in May 2022.

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