Benfica president Rui Costa has no regrets over sanctioning Enzo Fernandez's record-breaking move to Chelsea, saying the World Cup winner forced the transfer through his desire to leave.

Chelsea made Fernandez the most expensive acquisition in Premier League history on the final day of the January transfer window, meeting the £106.8million (€121m) release clause in his Benfica contract.

While Fernandez's arrival took Chelsea's spending to a reported £288.5m in January alone, the fee surpassed the £100m Manchester City spent to sign Jack Grealish from Aston Villa in 2021.

Benfica coach Roger Schmidt said Fernandez was unsettled by Chelsea's interest earlier in the month, and Costa admits the player's desire to leave left the Lisbon giants powerless.

"Everything was done to ensure that Enzo was not sold. I have a clear conscience and I am as sad as any Benfica fan," Costa told BTV on Thursday.

"We tried everything. Enzo has always shown a desire not to stay at Benfica.

"As a fan, I no longer wanted Enzo as a player. As president, he could not continue. I decided he had to leave.

"Commitment to Benfica is not beating your chest. In Arouca [a 3-0 win on Tuesday] we played without Enzo. 

"We lost a great player, but I will not cry for a player who did not want to stay at Benfica. I was raised at Benfica, knowing how to honour Benfica.

"Respecting Enzo, he is free to choose and the choice was not to stay at Benfica. At Benfica, there will only be players who are proud to be here."

Costa questioned Fernandez's unwillingness to remain in Portugal until the end of the season, saying any suitors would have waited for the 22-year-old.

"Was Enzo going to lose value until the end of the season at Benfica? No," he continued. 

"We tried to show him that if he stayed at Benfica until the end of the season, Chelsea and others would appear."

While the last-minute nature of Fernandez's exit left Benfica unable to sign a replacement, Costa was ultimately pleased with the structure of the deal.

Asked about Fernandez's record-breaking fee, Costa said: "It's in instalments. The value of the clause doesn't have to be paid upfront.

"We reached what we wanted and came out five million above the clause. It was not by chance that this deal ran out of time, we did everything to keep Enzo."

Vinicius Junior marked his 200th Real Madrid appearance in style with the second goal in a 2-0 win against Valencia.

The Brazilian burst into space from inside his own half to double Los Blancos' lead, just 90 seconds after Marco Asensio's stunning strike opened the scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Madrid, having failed to score on Sunday against Real Sociedad, encountered similar frustration in the first half and saw an Antonio Rudiger header disallowed juts before half-time.

That did not deter Carlo Ancelotti's side, who responded in style in a second period where Valencia finished with 10 men after Gabriel Paulista's dismissal.

It took just three minutes for Madrid to carve through Valencia's defence, Luka Modric feeding a pass through to Asensio but a fine save from the boot of Giorgi Mamardashvili kept him at bay.

Asensio had another chance after Karim Benzema's deft backheel into his path inside the area but Gabriel was on hand with an outstanding block to deflect the strike safely over the crossbar.

Los Blancos thought they had found their breakthrough on the brink of half-time, Rudiger flicking a header in off the right-hand post, but referee Javier Alberola Rojas chalked the effort off for a foul from Benzema on Yunus Musah as Modric's corner was whipped in.

Six minutes after the restart, the hosts finally broke the deadlock. It was third-time lucky for Asensio, who picked up possession outside the box and unleashed a ferocious left-footed drive that left Mamardashvili stranded.

The lead was doubled just 90 seconds later, Vinicius bursting into space down the left and driving into the area and slotting a comfortable finish beneath the Valencia stopper.

Valencia's problems got worse when Gabriel was given his marching orders for a horrendous hack on compatriot Vinicius, who was fortunate to avoid injury.

Juventus cast aside their recent woes to tee up an enticing Coppa Italia semi-final against Inter on Thursday as Gleison Bremer's first-half header guided them to a 1-0 win against Lazio.

The Coppa Italia appears to represent Juve's best chance of silverware this season after a 15-point deduction ended their slim Serie A title hopes, and the hosts were good value for their win after dominating for long periods.

Massimiliano Allegri's men missed two good chances before hitting the front on the stroke of half-time, with Bremer flicking Filip Kostic's inch-perfect delivery home.

Juve were rarely troubled at the other end as Maurizio Sarri's visitors disappointed in the final third, and they will face their Derby d'Italia rivals across two legs in the last four after this routine win.

Kostic drew a fingertip save from Luis Maximiano as Juve got on top after a tight opening to the contest, before Adrien Rabiot headed straight at the goalkeeper when left unmarked just before the half-hour mark.

The Bianconeri made their pressure count one minute before the break as Bremer met Kostic's inswinging cross with a glancing header, which beat Maximiano to nestle in the bottom-left corner.

Luis Alberto saw a long-range strike deflect narrowly over as Lazio improved following the half-time introduction of Pedro, while Danilo Cataldi worked Mattia Perin with a 25-yard free-kick.

Juve substitute Moise Kean forced Maximiano into action at his near post following a rapid break with 20 minutes remaining, as the hosts looked to put the game to bed.

Adam Marusic fizzed a long-range effort wide of the bottom-right corner as Lazio continued to hunt a leveller, but that was as close as they came to breaking down a resolute Juve backline.

Caroline Garcia came from a set behind to beat Alison Van Uytvanck and progress to the quarter-finals of the Lyon Open on Thursday.

The French top seed looked to be in trouble as Belgian Van Uytvanck eased to the first set, before Garcia found her feet to come back and overwhelm her opponent 2-6 6-0 6-1.

She will face Jasmine Paolini in the last eight after the Italian took just over an hour to dispose of Erika Andreeva 6-2 6-3.

Second seed Zhang Shuai is out though after falling to another Belgian in Maryna Zanevska 6-2 6-0.

Fifth seed Anastasia Potapova will face Zanevska next after her 6-4 4-6 6-3 win over Clara Burel, while seventh seed Danka Kovinic is also through after beating Anna Bondar 4-6 6-2 6-3.

At the Thailand Open, top seed Bianca Andreescu had no problems against Anastasia Zakharova, easing through to the quarter-finals 6-2 7-5.

The Canadian will face Marta Kostyuk next after the Ukrainian fifth seed defeated Nao Hibino 6-3 7-6 (9-7).

Sixth seed Tatjana Maria also progressed 6-0 6-4 against Dayana Yastremska, as did Heather Watson as she fought hard to see off Han Na-lae 6-3 5-7 6-4.

Darwin Nunez is confident he can follow in Luis Suarez's footsteps at Liverpool and explode in his second season.

The Uruguay forward has struggled to find consistency since arriving at Anfield from Benfica in June, scoring in his opening two appearances but only managing eight goals in 23 since.

Nunez's struggles in front of goal have come alongside Liverpool's own issues, with Jurgen Klopp's side languishing in ninth spot in the Premier League and out of both the EFL Cup and FA Cup.

Though he recognises the problems he has encountered in the first half of his debut season in English football, Nunez identified Suarez's own slow start on Merseyside and feels he can bounce back in similar style.

Former Ajax striker Suarez scored just 15 goals in 44 Premier League games in his first season-and-a-half at Liverpool, before hitting 54 in his next 66 prior to leaving for Barcelona in 2014.

"Obviously, I still have many things to work on, for example my finishing. But I think the same thing is happening to me as happened to Suarez. In his second year, he tore it up," Nunez told Sky Sports.

"Something similar happened to me already at Benfica. The first year went very badly for me and in the second, I exploded.

"Here, I think the same thing is happening. I hope next season will be like that. I'll put my best forward and hopefully I'll get a bit of luck."

In order to emulate Suarez, Nunez has regularly spoken to the man himself for advice and values the discussions with his compatriot.

"Of course, it's always helpful to speak with Suarez. For me, he is an idol. He is a great example. In the national team, I now have a much better relationship with him," he added.

"We are always talking and he is always giving me advice. I always try to keep in touch with him.

"I ask him a lot of things because he was at this club and he has a lot more experience than me. He is an important player to give me advice and explain things to me."

Manchester United "will conduct its own process" before determining next steps after all charges against Mason Greenwood were dropped.

The 21-year-old forward was arrested in January 2022 and was due to stand trial in November on accusations of attempted rape, assault and coercive control.

However, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed on Thursday that all charges have been discontinued.

Greenwood last featured for United on January 22 last year in a 1-0 victory against West Ham and has been suspended by the club ever since.

United now plan to conduct their own review before any further decisions are made regarding his association with the club.

A statement read: "Manchester United notes the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service that all charges against Mason Greenwood have been dropped.

"The club will now conduct its own process before determining next steps. We will not make any further comment until that process is complete."

Tom Brady will retire as a New England Patriot if owner Robert Kraft gets his way.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner announced his retirement on Wednesday, bringing an end to a 23-year career in the NFL.

Six of those Super Bowl victories came with the Patriots, but Brady spent the final three years of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, Kraft does not want Brady to end his career with that franchise and instead hopes he will sign a one-day contract with the Patriots.

"Not only do I want it, our fans are clamouring for it. To us, he always has been and always will be a Patriot," Kraft told CNN.

"We will do everything in our power to bring him back, have him sign off as a Patriot and find ways to honour him for many years to come.

"He did so much to bring life and good cheer to our community and he's a beloved figure and he's earned the respect and love that people feel for him like no other athlete in our town, and we've had some great ones."

The January transfer window set several records in the Premier League, with Chelsea's eye-watering spending spree sending shock waves across the football world.

Todd Boehly's takeover last year resulted in major acquisitions ahead of the start of this season, including Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly, but it is the mid-season business that has really thrust the club under the spotlight.

Chelsea's spending has split the footballing world down the middle, with some concerned by the outlay and what it means for Financial Fair Play (FFP), while others praised the club's hierarchy for their determination and ambition.

Here, Stats Perform has broken down the Blues' activity, the controversies and FFP impact, as well as the vast differences to Europe's other top leagues.
 

Spending spree

Eight new faces arrived at Stamford Bridge in the mid-season window, seven of which were permanent signings, and all of whom were aged 23 or under.

Chelsea's business shows a focus on the future, having paid a premium price for talent and potential rather than established stars – the exception perhaps being Atletico Madrid loanee Joao Felix.

Capped 28 times by Portugal, Joao Felix was a statement addition until the end of the season with the hope he can provide the cutting edge Chelsea have lacked in the final third and push the club back into the hunt for Champions League football.

The other seven additions, however, fit a different mould. While they will likely be utilised by Graham Potter this season, they all represent a relatively unknown quantity, despite some impressive feats.

In the record-breaking deal to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica, Chelsea paid a fee higher than a British club ever has previously to bring in the Argentine, who was named young player of the tournament in his nation's World Cup-winning campaign.

Yet he does not even have a full year of European football under his belt, with the situation similar for Mykhaylo Mudryk – a player who caught the eye with his Champions League displays, but one who has not featured in a top domestic league.

In total, Chelsea reportedly spent more than £280million on Fernandez, Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Malo Gusto, Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana.

Only two, Badiashile and Gusto, were signed from one of Europe's top-five European leagues, and Ligue 1 is widely considered to be the weakest financially compared to the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A and Bundesliga.

While the figures spent have led to scrutiny, a bigger cause of controversy is the apparent exploitation of a loophole in FFP regulations by issuing long-term deals to spread the fees across several years of financial reports.

According to reports, the Chelsea hierarchy believe they are the first to exploit a football transfer market weakness in the valuation of younger players and with the length of contracts given to signings.
 

Chelsea controversy

Amortisation of the fees spent in the January window has allowed Chelsea to spread the costs of their spending spree for budgetary purposes across the next eight seasons and beyond, handing out contracts with lengths that have rarely, if ever, been seen before.

Mudryk penned an eight-and-a-half-year deal at Stamford Bridge, tying him down beyond 2030, with similar deals issued to the rest of their January additions.

In fact, the shortest contract issued by the Blues was the six-year deal for striker Fofana, running until 2029, and even that is longer than most of the rest of the Premier League teams have handed new signings last month.

To put how it works into context, the majority of Chelsea's spending spree in excess of £280m will be spread across eight years, resulting in an annual cost of just £35m.

Chelsea can easily offset that cost with player sales which, unlike transfer fees for purchased players, are booked immediately into the financial records in one lump sum – and Potter has a number within his squad who could be sold at the end of the campaign.

This approach, crucially, is not against FFP regulations but UEFA has reportedly identified the loophole and are shifting the goalposts in future by setting a five-year limit for FFP – although this would not change things hugely.

If Chelsea's £280m spree was spread across five years, it would equate to £56m a year. Again, that is a fee the Blues can offset with player sales, TV revenue and sponsorship deals.

On top of this, from 2023-24, the allowable loss limit in FFP will be doubled from €30m (£26.6m) to €60m (£53.2m), while clubs judged to be in good financial health will be granted a further €30m in allowable losses over a three-year period.

That means that Chelsea could be permitted to lose as much as €90m (£80m) over three years, triple the old limit.
 

European impact

The most eye-catching fact from the January window is that Chelsea spent more than the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A and LaLiga combined – as well as spending more than the other 19 clubs in the Premier League.

Spending in England dwarfed that on the continent, with a reported outlay of over £800m from the Premier League compared to £110m in Ligue 1, £60m in the Bundesliga, £25m in Serie A and £25m in LaLiga.

While Chelsea's spending made up the majority of the Premier League figures, the divide between English football and the other top leagues in Europe is highlighted by spending elsewhere in the league.

Four of the bottom five clubs in the Premier League spent a reported total of £175m on new players, a figure that eclipses the total spending from any of Europe's other top five leagues.

European clubs, to put it simply, cannot compete. Brighton and Hove Albion staved off bids in excess of £70m for Moises Caicedo and it is difficult to imagine a similar situation had such a figure been offered to a side on the continent amid the current economic climate in football.

The biggest difference is that Premier League sides can afford to take risks and fail in the market, whereas those in Europe have no choice but to be more shrewd in their spending or suffer huge consequences – just take a look at Barcelona.

English clubs, meanwhile, can simply cut ties if things do not work out. Chelsea spent a reported £97.5m to sign Romelu Lukaku, only to loan him to Inter just a year later, while Timo Werner arrived from RB Leipzig in 2020 for a reported £45m and returned to the Bundesliga side last year for almost half that fee.

Chelsea are not alone in that regard. Arsenal's club-record signing Nicolas Pepe, signed for a reported £72m, is spending the season on loan at Nice, Tottenham's club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele is similarly outcast and Paul Pogba left Manchester United for nothing after the club paid a reported £89.5m to capture him from Juventus.

Two years ago, football rallied against the creation of a European Super League but the reality is it already exists – it's just known by a different name.

Leeds United striker Rodrigo Moreno will miss up to two months after suffering an ankle injury.

The Spain international sustained the knock during Leeds' FA Cup fourth round win at Accrington Stanley on Saturday.

Rodrigo is likely to miss around eight Premier League games during his absence, including the upcoming double header against Manchester United.

The 31-year-old is the club's top scorer this season, having hit 12 goals in 22 games, and a statement from Leeds on Thursday confirmed Rodrigo: "suffered bone and ligament damage as a result of a challenge and has undergone minor surgery".

The club also said that the "medical team at Thorp Arch are confident that Rodrigo will return to play by the end of March," meaning he could be back in time for April's trip to league leaders Arsenal.

Jesse Marsch's men sit 15th in the Premier League, having only won two of their last 16 league games. They have not secured three points since their 4-3 win against Bournemouth on November 5.

Kylian Mbappe looks likely to miss Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League last-16 first-leg tie against Bayern Munich with a hamstring injury.

The 24-year-old striker sustained the muscle problem in the first half of PSG's 3-1 Ligue 1 victory at Montpellier on Wednesday and is set to miss around three weeks of action.

The French champions released a statement on Thursday to reveal Mbappe's estimated recovery time, which if accurate would mean he will miss league games against Toulouse, Monaco and Lille, as well as the Coupe de France clash with Marseille and their Champions League first leg at home to Bayern, which takes place on February 14.

"After examinations, Kylian Mbappe suffered from a lesion of the left thigh at the level of the femoral biceps. His recovery time is estimated at three weeks," PSG said.

Mbappe – who has 25 goals in 26 appearances for PSG this season – had a game to forget on Wednesday, having also had a penalty saved, including a retake before somehow also lifting the rebound over the bar, and then coming off with his injury in the 21st minute.

The club also confirmed that Sergio Ramos will undergo "further examinations" after the veteran Spanish centre-back also came off against Montpellier having appeared to suffer a head injury.

Graham Potter warned there will be "awkward conversations" ahead at Chelsea after the signing of Enzo Fernandez capped a staggering spending spree.

The head coach can register just three of the seven new recruits for his Champions League squad, ahead of the last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund, while even in the Premier League it will be difficult to keep players happy.

Chelsea have stars coming back from injury, to add to the sudden influx of fresh blood, and the onus is on Potter to shape a team that can win consistently after a stuttering start to his Blues career.

Owner Todd Boehly brought in Fernandez from Benfica on deadline day, with the World Cup winner joining the long list of arrivals at Stamford Bridge, after Chelsea also acquired Mykhaylo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana, Joao Felix and Noni Madueke.

Potter described Argentine midfielder Fernandez as "a fantastic player" and "an impressive young man", adding: "I'm excited by the second part of the season we have here, happy the transfer window's closed, and we can move forward and work with the players."

Chelsea had to inform UEFA by the end of Thursday about their squad choices for the Champions League knockout stage, and Potter said some players would inevitably be disappointed to miss out.

Loanee Joao Felix, fresh from arriving from Atletico Madrid, was described by Potter as being "in contention", but the coach would not commit any further on his choices.

"Of course, there's going to be a few awkward questions, that's the reality of where we are," Potter said. "A few awkward conversations because only 11 can play and only a certain amount can be in squads, so there's always going to be ones that are disappointed.

"It's about being as honest and open and transparent as you can and create an environment where you respect that people want to play, and respect the fact that players want to compete and help the team, but they have to be patient and make sure they're ready to play and perform and help us win."

Potter's Chelsea sit 10th in the Premier League, already 10 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United with 18 games left to play.

Their hopes of a top-four Premier League finish look bleak, but Potter will be expected to send Chelsea shooting up the table now he has ample resources.

"Everybody that's been in this room in the last four months, the word we've always spoken about is pressure, so that's not going to change," Potter said, speaking at Chelsea's press conference ahead of Friday's game against Fulham.

"Clearly, if you spend money, the external noise goes up. I understand that. Spending money is one thing, but you need to be able to align them, make the right decisions and provide a culture, a team, an environment.

"It's not the amount you spend on its own that gets success, it's more than that.

"Challenge is the right word, but I'm certainly not complaining about it. It's exciting. It's a test for me and the staff, but it's an exciting one.

"We've got a lot of really good players and we have to create an environment where there's healthy competition and they can push each other and understand there'll be frustration at times."

Potter says Chelsea have "tried to build something for the now and for the future", and he said he was "calm, calm" on deadline day as club officials negotiated to complete the Fernandez deal.

"I'm very, very pleased because we've got a fantastic player, and I'm looking forward to working with him," Potter said. "I spoke to him. My Spanish isn't great and his English isn't great, so we needed a translator, but we'll get there."

Hakim Ziyech's move to Paris Saint-Germain collapsed late on Tuesday, meaning he will stay with Chelsea, and Potter said the former Ajax winger would be "an important player for the rest of the season".