Barcelona have officially announced the signings of Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen on a free transfer.
While Danish defender Christensen, 26, joins from Chelsea, Ivorian midfielder Kessie, 25, joins from AC Milan.
Both players have signed four-year contracts with 500 million Euro (£430 million) release clauses.
Kessie contributed 39 goals in 224 games played for the Rossoneri last season, helping the team win its first Serie A championship in 11 years.
Christensen played a total of 161 games for the Blues while also spending two seasons on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach after graduating from Stamford Bridge’s development program.
With Chelsea, he won the Club World Cup, Uefa Super Cup, Champions League, and Europa League.
Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho left the Nou Camp this summer and signed a permanent contract with Aston Villa for £18 million. Ousmane Dembele and Dani Alves also left their contracts unfulfilled.
Meanwhile, Manchester United and Barcelona have come to a general understanding regarding a 65 million euro (£56 million) fee plus add-ons for the Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
Franck Kessie
Franck Yannick Kessié, an Ivorian professional football player who competes for both the Ivory Coast national team and La Liga club Barcelona, was born on December 19, 1996.
Kessié, a native of Ouragahio, started working for Stella Club d’Adjamé in 2010, joining their young division. He was elevated to the first team in 2014.
Kessié’s father, who had played professional football in his teens before serving in the Ivorian army, passed away from illness when he was 11 years old. Therefore, he performs a military salute as one of his goal celebrations in honor of his late father.
Honours
AC Milan
- Serie A: 2021–22
Individual
- Serie A Team of the Year: 2020–21
Andreas Christensen
Andreas Bdtker Christensen, a center-back for La Liga club Barcelona and the Danish national team, was born in Denmark on April 10, 1996.
Christensen started working for Skjold Birkerd before moving on to Brndby. He made his professional debut in October 2014 after joining Chelsea at the age of 15 in February 2012. He made 82 appearances and scored 7 goals while on loan to Bundesliga team Borussia Mönchengladbach from 2015 to 2017.
Christensen represented Denmark at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2020 after making his full international debut for the country in June 2015.
Honours
Chelsea Youth
- FA Youth Cup: 2013–14
- UEFA Youth League: 2014–15
Chelsea
- UEFA Champions League: 2020–21
- UEFA Europa League: 2018–19
- UEFA Super Cup: 2021
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2021
- FA Cup runner-up: 2019–20
- EFL Cup runner-up: 2018–19
Individual
- Danish Talent of the Year: 2015
- Borussia Monchengladbach Player of the Year: 2015–16
- Chelsea Young Player of the Year: 2017–18
