Lisbon, March 21, 2025 (Lusa) - English Premier League club Chelsea have spent a total of €344.6 million on players from clubs in Portugal over the years, with the transfers this week of Geovany Quenda and Dário Essugo, both from Sporting of Lisbon, bringing to total tally to 16.
The national champions and leaders of Portugal's Primeira Liga transferred 17-year-old winger Quenda for a fixed fee of €50.8 million, plus €1.4 million in variables, while 20-year-old midfielder Essugo cost the Blues €22.3 million, for a total cost of €74.4 million for the two deals.
While Quenda, who topped Sporting's sales podium and became the most expensive under-18 player in the sport, will not be joining Chelsea until the 2026/27 season, Essugo will be arriving next summer, after finishing his time at Spain's Las Palmas, to whom he was loaned at the start of this season.
The combined value of the two youngsters trained at Sporting is lower than the highest transfer between Chelsea and Portuguese clubs, which took place in January 2023, when midfielder Enzo Fernández became the most expensive signing in the history of the Blues, leaving Benfica for €121 million just weeks after winning the 2022 World Cup with Argentina.
Enzo, Quenda and Essugo were signed under the management of the consortium headed by US businessman Todd Boehly, who took over Chelsea three years ago in succession to Roman Abramovich, a Russian national who also has a Portuguese passport, and who had become the target of European sanctions prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Between 2002 and 2023, Abramovich helped to more than double the contents of Chelsea's trophy cabinet, which went from 15 to the current 36 trophies, adding five league championships - the only victory up until then had dated back to 1954/55 - plus two Champions League titles, two Europa League titles, a European Super Cup and a Club World Cup, all the time beating records in terms of spending.
The first victories of those two decades were achieved under the guidance of Portuguese coach José Mourinho, who arrived in the summer of 2004, just after winning the European Championship with FC Port. He brought with him four footballers who were also in Portugal's national squad.
If the transfers of central defender Ricardo Carvalho, who won the 2016 European Championship for Portugal, and right-back Paulo Ferreira brought FC Porto €30 million and €20 million respectively, midfielder Tiagondes left Benfica for €5 million, while centre-back Nuno Morais left Penafiel, then just promoted to the Primeira Liga, at zero cost.
Two years later, also with no money involved, Chelsea recruited goalkeeper Hilário from Nacional, who stayed there until he left the pitch in 2013/14, and would be part of the club's various coaching teams until 2025, when he joined Thomas Tuchel, another former Chelsea coach, in the England national team.
In 2008, under Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who had left the Portuguese national team after that year's European Championships, right-back Bosingwa came to Stamford Bridge from FC Porto for €20.5 million, and winger Fábio Paim, who did not play a game or revitalise his career during his four months on loan from Sporting.
Deals between Chelsea and Sporting's Lisbon rival Benfica reappeared in the second decade of the 21st century, with Brazilian centre-back David Luiz transferring in January 2011 for €25 million, half a year after fellow midfielder Ramires made the same move for 22.
Serbian centre-back Nemanja Matić also brought in €25 million for Benfica in the middle of 2013/14, after a first spell with the Blues, in a season that began with the acquisition of the late Ghanaian forward Christian Atsu from FC Porto for €3 million.
After the record deal for Enzo, Chelsea also took winger Diego Moreira from Luz, who was at the end of his contract and played one game in 2023/24 for the Blues, from where he moved on to France, joining Strasbourg permanently after a loan spell at Lyon.
The first to leave a Portuguese club for Stamford Bridge was winger Filipe Oliveira, who left FC Porto's youth ranks in 2002 for an undisclosed sum.
As well as Filipe Oliveira, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira, Tiagondes, Nuno Morais, Hilário, Bosingwa, Fábio Paim and Diego Moreira, the Portuguese players Filipe Morais, Maniche, Deco, Raulireles, Eduardo, Ricardo Quaresma, João Félix and Renato Veiga were linked to Chelsea, whose squad includes only international winger Pedro Neto.
- List of Chelsea's signings from Portuguese clubs:
Player (Country) Club of origin Year Fee
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Enzo Fernández (Arg) Benfica 2023 €121M
Geovany Quenda (Por) Sporting 2025 €50.8M
Ricardo Carvalho (Por) FC Porto 2004 €30M
Nemanja Matić (Serbia) Benfica 2014 €25M
David Luiz (Brazil) Benfica 2011 €25M
Dário Essugo (Por) Sporting 2025 €22.3M
Ramires (Brazil) Benfica 2010 €22M
José Bosingwa (Por) FC Porto 2008 €20.5M
Paulo Ferreira (Por) FC Porto 2004 €20M
Tiagondes (Por) Benfica 2004 €5M
Christian Atsu (Ghana) FC Porto 2013 €3M
Filipe Oliveira (Por) FC Porto 2002 €3M
Diego Moreira (Por) Benfica B 2023 Free transfer
Hilário (Por) Nacional 2006 Free transfer
Nuno Morais (Por) Penafiel 2004 Free transfer
Fábio Paim (For) Sporting 2008 Loan
RTF/ARO // ARO.
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