Chelsea and AS Monaco fell out spectacularly on transfer deadline day after a late-night swap involving Folarin Balogun and Lamine Camara collapsed before the 23:00 BST window closed.
The Ligue 1 side needed cash to satisfy Uefa financial rules and had already banked 106 million euros from summer sales, leaving a 150 million euro target still short.
Monaco allowed United States striker Balogun, 25, to fly to Merseyside for a £40m Everton move, believing Senegalese midfielder Camara, 22, had agreed to stay put.
Chelsea had been chasing Camara for ten days as cover before a potential £125m Enzo Fernandez sale to Manchester City, but Monaco sporting director Thiago Scuro told them the answer was no.
With three hours left, Balogun's Everton medical hit trouble and Monaco reopened talks with Chelsea at 20:00 BST, agreeing a £47m fee for Camara shortly after.
Everton recovered, signed Balogun, and Monaco pulled the plug on Chelsea, leaving the Premier League outfit furious over the method of the U-turn.
"Chelsea saw an opportunity and said 'maybe we can be the solution.' We had to open the door," Scuro told reporters, confirming Camara had already passed a medical and signed a contract until 2033.
The talking point doing the rounds among the faithful is whether Monaco played the game fair, or simply played Chelsea for mugs.
What happened on deadline night?
Chelsea missed out on Camara and Roma's Manu Kone, kept their midfield options, and watched the Fernandez-to-Manchester City storyline hang in the balance. Balogun ended up at Everton as planned, and Camara stays at the Stade Louis II for now.
Source: BBC Sport
