Sevilla used entire remaining wage budget to sign Youssouf Fofana, says Luis Garcia Plaza

Sevilla manager Luis Garcia Plaza says the club committed all of its remaining wage budget to complete the loan signing of Youssouf Fofana from AC Milan last summer.

Milan are also paying most of the 27-year-old midfielder’s salary as part of the agreement, according to Garcia Plaza.

“When the opportunity to sign Youssouf Fofana came up, we did not think twice because he was an impossible target for us,” the Spanish manager told Italian website Milan News.

“Milan pay the largest part of Fofana’s salary. It felt as though he had fallen from the sky and arrived as a gift.”

Garcia Plaza said Sevilla had made their maximum financial commitment to secure the player.

“We offered everything we had left in our wage budget to sign him,” he added.

The manager said the deal had been unexpected, with Fofana originally close to joining Lyon before a problem disrupted the move.

“Signing Fofana was unexpected for us. We did not expect to bring in a player of this quality,” Garcia Plaza said.

“He was on his way to joining Lyon, but then some problem occurred and Milan offered him to us.”

Fofana joined AC Milan from Monaco in the summer of 2024 for 26 million euros. He subsequently moved to Sevilla on loan last summer.

The midfielder has made four appearances for Sevilla, scoring one goal and providing no assists across 276 minutes of playing time.