Marouane Fellaini has denied the presence of a release clause in his contract. Given his outstanding season for Everton the Belgian international has been linked with a host of top clubs (and Arsenal). Media sources had spoken of a £22 million release clause in his contract for any club in the Champion’s League, much to the alarm of Evertonians, who will feel he is worth considerably more.
Fellaini has assuaged those fears, however, stating that, although there are clauses in his contract requiring that any Champion’s League club be allowed to enter into negotiations with Everton, there is no set amount of money they must accept. Fellaini also indicated that he was hopeful of staying at Everton should the club qualify for the Champion’s League this year, referring to the team as his ‘family’.
‘I have heard about Chelsea monitoring me, but I have never spoken with them,’ Fellaini told sportwereld.be. ‘Throughout my time at Everton, there has been word on the grapevine of interest from some of England’s top teams, but I have never personally sat round the table with any of them.
‘If Chelsea want me, they need to come up with something, but they have not done so far. For now, I am very happy with Everton. We are fifth, and if we can climb just one more place, and stay there, we can look forward to playing in the Champions’ League. Would that make me stay? Maybe yes, because Everton are the team who brought me to England. I have a very good relationship with the manager and my team-mates, and the club are like my family.
‘People are talking about Chelsea as if I have already signed, but I am an Everton player, and maybe I will finish the three years left on my contract. If I do end up leaving, it would be up to the club to decide on the price. I have all sorts of clauses in my contract, but there is no fixed fee for releasing me.
‘The Premier League is the best in the world, but I don’t have a dream team I want to go to. If I do leave Everton, it would be to a club who really want me and a manager who has really good plans for me. People seem to think that Eden Hazard’s presence at Chelsea might tip it their way. He is a very good friend, but so too are Mousa Dembele and Christian Benteke, so that wouldn’t influence anything.’
Fellaini not having a release clause may well make it easier for Arsenal to get Fellaini. The clauses in his contract regarding a CL side puts added pressure on Everton to do a deal because Fellaini could start acting up.