PSG Agree Deal To Sign David Luiz From Chelsea

Source: thewillnigeria.com

They may have just been sanctioned by UEFA for breaching Financial Fair Play rules but Paris Saint-Germain is showing no sign of putting away the checkbook.

The French champions announced an agreement has been reached with Chelsea late Friday to sign Brazil international defender David Luiz subject to the player passing a medical and agreeing personal terms.

Neither club confirmed the extent of the fee agreed although reports earlier in the day had suggested a figure in the region of £40 million ($67 million) was likely.

'Paris Saint Germain, Chelsea and David Luiz would like to confirm that they reached an agreement regarding the terms of an upcoming transfer of the Brazilian defender that would occur during the next transfer window which is due to start on 10th June 2014,' read a statement released by PSG.

'In accordance with the player's wish to prepare for and play in the World Cup in his home country in the best possible conditions, both clubs and David Luiz wished to reach an agreement as soon as possible.'

If the $67 million fee reported is correct it will make Luiz the most expensive defender ever, overtaking the $57 million PSG paid to sign Thiago Silva from AC Milan in 2012.

How the Parisians aim to incorporate the deal into their commitments to comply with UEFA's new financial regulations remains unclear, however.

Selling players or increasing revenues is a possibility but president Nasser al-Khelaifi has publicly stated his intention to continue to invest in the team.

PSG were sanctioned last week along with English champions Manchester City for breaking FFP rules which aim to stop clubs getting into unmanageable debt or allow wealthy benefactors to give top teams and unfair advantage.

Backed by the Qatar Investment Authority, PSG have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on some of the world's best players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edison Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi in recent years.

The club claimed any losses incurred on these transfers was wiped out with a huge and back-dated sponsorship deal with the Qatar Tourist Authority but UEFA concluded that although this deal was valid it was heavily overvalued.

As a result, PSG were found to have exceeded the permitted losses of $62 million over the course of the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons and accepted a fine of $83 million and a squad capped at 21 players rather than the usual 25 for next season's Champions League campaign.

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