Former Chelsea star slams Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia for signing for 'just money'

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Chelsea signings Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia have both been blasted by Emmanuel Petit for picking his former club over Liverpool

Chelsea Unveil New Signings Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo at Chelsea Training Ground on August 14, 2023 in Cobham, England.
(Image credit: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Chelsea stars Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia have both moved to Stamford Bridge for the money rather than because of the project on offer.

That's according to former Blue, Emmanuel Petit, who despairs at the pair of midfielders for their transfer decisions this summer, because of any "clear plan" in west London. Petit played for Chelsea in the 2000s, opening up to FourFourTwo in the past about his own transfer move regrets – and now he says that Caicedo's £115m move and Lavia's £55m move were not the best choices that the players could have made from a sporting perspective. 

"The numbers are crazy in football now," Petit told BettingSites.co.uk. "Sometimes it is justified, but most of the time it's not. It's a sign of how much you want that player and how much you're willing to pay for them."

Chelsea Unveil New Signing Moises Caicedo as he poses for photos at Chelsea Training Ground on August 14, 2023 in Cobham, England.

Moises Caicedo conceded a penalty on his Chelsea debut (Image credit: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

"Caicedo signed for Chelsea when he was linked with Liverpool, just like Romeo Lavia. I'm not going to say anything stupid but we all know why they went to Chelsea. Sportingly, the best decision right now would be to go to Liverpool. 

"If I am Caicedo or Lavia, I'm going to Liverpool instead of Chelsea because I can't see a clear plan for what is going on at Chelsea. Thirty-five players? Come on. How many players do they need? It's going to be a nightmare just like what happened last season. 

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"When you look at Liverpool there is one area in particular that needs to be upgraded and that is the midfield area even though they signed new players in Szoboszlai and Mac Allister. 

"If I was Caicedo I would have signed for Liverpool because I would reunite with Mac Allister and I would play with less pressure because so many of their midfield players have left the club. 

Emmanuel Petit of Chelsea goes past Sylvain Wiltord of Arsenal during the FA Barclaycard Premiership match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London. The game ended 1-1.

Emmanuel Petit is unimpressed with his successors in the Blues midfield (Image credit: Ben Radford /Allsport)

"For me, the answer is very easy. If you ask somebody why Caicedo and Lavia decided to go to Chelsea, the answer is just money. Money talks for the clubs and for the players."

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Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.