The 'nasty, grubby and utterly classless' way Chelsea got rid of Conor Gallagher

Conor Gallagher will join Atletico Madrid at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium. The English midfielder joins Cholo Simeone's men in what will be the Argentine's fourteenth season in the club. Gallagher will be a great add-on for his squad, with big hopes of leaving a mark in Europe.

Former Chelsea captain Conor Gallagher, who joined the club as a nine-year-old, has been at the centre of a transfer tug-of-war between Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, with his treatment being branded as “humiliating” by The Daily Mail’s Ian Herbert.

Chelsea agreed to £35m (€41m/$45m) for Gallagher, which was roughly the same price being argued for Samu Omorodion's move to Stamford Bridge, according to BBC Sport.

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However, for reasons that are yet to be made clear, Chelsea backed out of the Omorodion deal at the last minute.

In exchange for Gallagher, Chelsea has now signed Joao Felix on a permanent deal, with the West London club rumored to have spent £55m (€64m/$71) to bring the Portuguese attack back to the club, having previously spent time on loan at Chelsea.

The Daily Mail reported on the strained relationship between Enzo Maresca and Conor Gallagher, which led to Gallagher returning to London to train with Chelsea's U21s ahead of his anticipated move to Atletico Madrid.

Ian Herbert, writing for The Daily Mail, described Gallagher’s treatment by Chelsea as, “nasty, grubby and utterly classless,” in a brutal rant about Chelsea’s lack of respect for one of their own.

As Herbert points out, Todd Boehly and the rest of the Clearlake ownership group see Gallagher not as a player who has represented the club for the best part of two decades, but as an asset whose sale would generate instant profit for a club intent of spending every penny they can.

Herbert also points out that Chelsea pressured Gallagher into accepting a move away from his boyhood club by refusing to let him train with the first team if he didn’t comply. This action could be considered “abusive behavior” under Article 14 (2) of the FIFA regulations.

Nevertheless, it seems both sides ultimately agreed that parting ways was the best option. Will Gallagher become the new unspoken hero of the Civitas Metropolitano?

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