Chelsea's capture of Joao Pedro now means they have spent more than £280m on Brighton personnel over the past three seasons - enough to build the Amex Stadium three times over
Joao Pedro has signed for Chelsea in a £60m deal
Joao Pedro has signed for Chelsea in a £60m deal(Image: Getty Images)
Chelsea's decision to continue raiding Brighton for their top talent means that, in just three years, the Seagulls have banked £282million from the Blues - enough to build the Amex Stadium three times.
The latest mover between the two clubs is Joao Pedro, who will head to Stamford Bridge for £60million. The Brazilian, who was signed from Watford and also of interest to Newcastle, will head straight to the Club World Cup to join up with his new team-mates.
His signing is just the latest piece of negotiation to occur between the two Premier League clubs. Chelsea's love affair with all things Brighton began when they opted to hire Graham Potter as their new manager after they'd sacked Thomas Tuchel.
They paid £22m in compensation to get Potter, and five of his backroom staff, out of Brighton. Only for them to sack him after less than a year as results saw them tumble down the table.
In terms of player recruits the Blues have shelled out £60m on Marc Cucurella, who was quickly ridiculed when he struggled to hit the heights expected in the capital. £25m was then spent on goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Sanchez though has been unable to convince the likes of Enzo Maresca and the Italian is on the lookout for a new No 1 this summer. That came before the British transfer record was broken when the Blues went after Moises Caicedo and won the race for his signature.
They spent a staggering £115m to eventually get him to Stamford Bridge and this year he has looked impressive. All that spending means that the Blues have handed Brighton just over £280m, much of which is profit given how the Seagulls landed many of those players before they were household names.
The Amex Stadium was opened back in 2011
The Amex Stadium was opened back in 2011(Image: Getty Images)
To put it into perspective, the still new stadium that Brighton play in only cost them £93m. They could now build the ground several times over with the money they've landed from the Blues, albeit building costs will have risen. Tony Bloom took over the club in 2009 and has proved an immensely shrewd operator. The club left the outdated Withdean Stadium and moved to the Amex in 2011.
The stadium in Falmer, just on the outskirts of Brighton, has since hosted games in the Rugby World Cup and helped make Brighton a modern day top flight club with their investments being aided by the money they receive in transfer fees.
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