Why Chelsea are refusing to pay Enzo Fernandez buyout clause explained -- it's not about the price

Chelsea have resumed talk with Benfica over the transfer of Enzo Fernandez, per multiple sources.

However, the Blues are still refusing to pay his buyout clause to avoid infringing on Financial Fair Play regulations, according to Mackrell Sport.

Chelsea are pushing to agree on a transfer fee for the player to allow them to register the deal across the years in his contract. For example, if Chelsea were to sign Enzo for a transfer fee worth £70m, they could register his transfer fee as £7m per season on a seven-year deal.

If Chelsea were to pay his buyout clause (which is what Benfica wants) worth £120m, they will be mandated to record the full amount paid on their books for that financial year. That would immediately raise a red flag with FFP regulations and Chelsea could be heavily sanctioned.

Simply put, transfer fees can be split and recorded as yearly expenditures but buyout clauses cannot. This was exactly what Chelsea did in the transfer of Mykhailo Mudryk.

Unless Benfica can agree to let Fernandez go for a transfer fee, this deal may never see the light of day.