Germany international Timo Werner has said that he had to ‘hurt one side’ after opting out of RB Leipzig’s Champions League campaign to join Chelsea next month.
The 24-year-old was convinced to join the Blues at the beginning of the month and his transfer to the west London club was made official on June 18.
In the announcement, it was revealed that Werner would formally join the Blues on July 1 and he would thereby miss the remainder of Leipzig’s Champions League campaign.
That has certainly led to disappointment from a section of the Leipzig fans and in an interview with Sport Buzzer, Werner has acknowledged that he is also hurt by the decision.
Frank Lampard’s side were obviously fearful of the German picking up a potential injury and Werner has revealed that the terms of the transfer were mutually agreed by all parties including himself.
“Of course it hurts me that I can’t help out [RB Leipzig] to play in the Champions League. But I’m a Chelsea FC player from July 1st and I’m being paid by Chelsea from then on,” He told.
“It was clear that all parties – Chelsea, RB and my side – should and must settle this. Of course I tried to keep out of the Champions League issue as much as I could because it was clear that I would have to hurt one side. That’s why my agent finally agreed it with the clubs.”
Werner will officially join the Blues at the beginning of next month and he is free to link up with his new teammates in training in order to get used to the style of play under new boss Lampard.
He is, however, ineligible to be registered in any competition for the rest of the season and will have to wait until the 2020/21 season to make his debut for the Europa League holders.
Leipzig recently ended their Bundesliga campaign in the third spot with 66 points on the board. Werner was the standout performer for them with 28 goals and eight assists and was ever-present through the league season.
The Saxony-based club have already qualified for the last-eight stage of the Champions League. The premier competition will resume in August after the COVID-19 break and they should know their opponents in due course.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
