Papy Djilobodji’s agent claims Chelsea could never have registered him for Champions League, but Uefa disagree

Bodge job: Confusion reigns over the new Chelsea signing
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
James Benge10 September 2015

Papy Djilobodji’s agent has claimed that the Chelsea signing could never have been in his new side’s Champions League squad, despite Uefa regulations saying otherwise.

The then-Nantes defender was a surprise £2.7 million addition to the champion’s squad on the final day of the transfer window, with the club’s failed pursuit of John Stones forcing Chelsea to continue alternative defenders.

Djilobodji signed a four-year deal with his new side but doubts as to whether he was the player Jose Mourinho wanted surfaced when the Senegal international was left out of the club’s 25-man Champions League squad.

Speaking to Sengalese publication iFGM the player’s representative, Mouhamed Gueye, explained that this was because the player was not signed in time for Uefa’s registration process.

He explained: “We’re being given this information like it was some kind of sanction. But, all you need to do is look on the UEFA website to see that they expect squad lists to be registered before midnight on 31 August.

“The player signed on the 1st of September. With the best will in the world, he couldn’t have been in the squad.

“This list is only for the group stages. There is nothing preventing him from featuring later on in the tournament.”

Chelsea players on international duty

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However Uefa’s regulations governing the Champions League state in Article 43.07 that a club entering the group stage of the competition were to submit their List A squad by 24:00 CET on 1 September 2015, over 12 hours after Chelsea completed their deal.

Mourinho is expected to try to sign Stones again in January. Everton refused to sell the 21-year-old despite the Blues bidding £38 million for him.

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