Kepa Arrizabalaga’s lawyers have paid his £72million release clause to La Liga as the goalkeeper closes in on his world-record move to Chelsea.
The Blues agreed to make the Athletic Bilbao No 1 the most expensive shot-stopper in history on Tuesday as they look to replace Thibaut Courtois.
And the stunning deal moved a step closer to completion on Wednesday morning as lawyers representing Kepa and Chelsea deposited the record fee at 9.22am.
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Lawyers Enric Ripoll Gonzalez and Paolo Torchetti, from De Ruiz-Huerta and Crespo lawyers in Valencia, represented the Premier League side, while the payment was made through the player’s lawyers and Margarita Garay, general director of Bahia Internacional.
She was accompanied by lawyers Rodrigo Garcia and Alvaro Reig de Laffer.
In keeping with the way release clauses work in Spain, Chelsea paid the giant £72m fee to Kepa, who then instructed his lawyers to deposit it with La Liga.
The money will then be distributed to Athletic Bilbao when all paperwork is completed.
The Spanish club confirmed that Kepa had paid his release clause and thanked him for his contribution in a statement on their official website.
Kepa, who was pictured at Madrid Airport on Tuesday night, did not attend the meeting on Wednesday morning as he prepares to fly from Getafe to London.