33-year-old goalkeeper, 2022 World Cup winner, has moved to Stamford Bridge on a three-year contract.
E. Martinez joined Villa in 2020 and played 256 matches, helping the club win the Europa League last season.
“Coming to Chelsea was an easy decision for me and my family, and I am just incredibly happy – I can’t wait to get started.
I want to achieve something here. I am a person who wants to win everything I do, and I want to bring that mindset to this football club because it is a club that wins titles, so I think it’s a great match,” said E. Martinez.
E. Martinez’s transfer to Chelsea happened after Nicolas Jackson moved in the opposite direction last week.
In the past four years, no other Premier League clubs have exchanged more players than these – neither permanently nor on loan deals.
These relations began after Chelsea’s owners BlueCo took over the club in 2022 and that summer bought Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa for €23.4 million.
Later, Ian Maatsen (for €43.8 million to Villa), Omari Kellyman (for €22.2 million to Chelsea), and Axel Disasi (on a €5.8 million loan deal to Villa) moved between the clubs.
Just this summer, four more deals were made. Morgan Rogers moved to Chelsea for €13.7 million, and Alejandro Garnacho joined Villa on loan with a conditional obligation to buy for about €50.2 million.
Later, N. Jackson moved to Villa for €76 million, followed by E. Martinez.
Since 2022, Chelsea has paid Aston Villa €191 million for players. Villa has spent €120 million on Chelsea players, including Axel Disasi’s loan fee. This amount could rise to €176 million if the obligations for the permanent acquisition of A. Garnacho are fulfilled.
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