Liverpool of England will have to cough out a princely £6.8m to their English Premier League rivals, Chelsea, for snatching Nigerian-born youngster, Rio Chima Ngumoha from The Blues.
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Sports247 reports that Ngumoha switched from Chelsea to join Liverpool as a 16-year-old back in September 2024, but the move came after he refused to sign a professional contract at Stamford Bridge.
After years of tossing up and down over the matter, a tribunal has ruled that Liverpool must pay a minimum of £2.8m to Chelsea in compensation, but the fee could rise with an additional £4m for performance-based milestones.
A report by BBC Sport added, “The 17-year-old left Chelsea’s academy in September 2024 to join the Reds and signed his first professional contract with them a year later.
“The Professional Football Compensation Committee (PFCC) tribunal has now decided how much Chelsea are owed for the English forward’s training and development while with the Blues.
“The initial £2.8m is non-negotiable, but could rise through add-ons if certain conditions are met. As first reported by The Athletic,, external Chelsea will also be owed 20% of the profit if Liverpool sell Ngumoha.
“The teenager has made 13 appearances across all competitions for Arne Slot’s side this season and scored a dramatic 100th-minute winner against Newcastle on his Premier League debut in August.
“Aged 16 years and 361 days at the time, the goal made Ngumoha the youngest goal scorer in Liverpool’s history. He also became the youngest player to start a match for the club – aged 16 years and 135 days old – in a 4-0 win over Accrington in the FA Cup in January 2025.”
