Chelsea star Pedro will join Serie A club AS Roma at the end of the current season when his contract expires. The Spaniard, who signed a short-term contract extension on Tuesday which will keep him at Chelsea till the end of the 2019-20 season, has agreed to join AS Roma next season. The 32-year-old already had signed a principle deal with the Italian club and was only waiting for the club to reduce their wage bill and fit him in. With Chelsea signing Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech, Pedro was always going to be pushed into the sidelines had he decided to stay at Stamford Bridge. Timo Werner Transfer to Chelsea From RB Leipzig Complete, German Striker to Join Blues in July.

According to reports, Pedro has signed a short-term contract that will keep him at Chelsea until the end of the current season as his deal was supposed to officially expire next month. But at the end of the current season, he will join Roma as a free joint after his Chelsea deal expires. Sky Sports reported that the Spaniard has signed a two-year deal with Roma and will earn £50,000 per week. The club also has the option to extend the contract for another 12 months.

Pedro joined Chelsea from boyhood club Barcelona in 2015 and has won one Premier League, FA Cup and a Europa League title at Stanford Bridge. In his five-year spell at the Premier League club, Pedro scored 43 goals in 201 games for Chelsea with his most successful period coming in the first seasons under both Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri.

He played only 18 times for Chelsea since Frank Lampard became coach last summer and with the club signing Werner and Ziyech – both can play on wide right – Pedro would have fallen further down the radar. He, however, still has the chance to make one last hurray with Chelsea as the club chases a top-four finish in the Premier League and are also part of the FA Cup and the Champions League.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 25, 2020 08:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).