Shock news this morning from Sky that Liverpool are planning a big money bid for Ribery, a story given credence by the fact that Skybet have slashed the odds of Ribery joining the Scousers from 66-1 to odds on. Skybet have said that "every price we have put up has been taken on Ribery moving to Liverpool, which has left us stumped as in recent weeks he has been linked with every club except the reds!" Skybet similarly slashed the odds of Owen going to Man Utd just days before the deal was signed.
All this follows a Rafa Rant, this time aimed at the other half of Manchester. In a press conference yesterday, Benitez slammed Barry for going to Man City, calling him "100 per cent" mercenary. "It is not a bad thing to miss out on him. The most important thing is the passion of the player."
Contrasting stories this morning on Terry's future. The Sun has reported that Terry is likely to get a £25k-a-week payrise, and that his discussions with Lancelot went well yesterday. Meanwhile the broadsheets have been reporting that his future is very much in the balance. There's also further evidence that we're looking to the future with this year's transfer purchases - The Telegraph today reported that we're interested in buying England U21 player Adam Johnson (a player Real Madrid were interested in last year) for £8M from Middlesbrough.
Rumours are fast growing that Fabregas is off to Barcelona. The Spanish press has been full of it for days. This would be a huge loss for Arsenal, especially with Man City pressing hard for Champions League football. The loss of a player of Fabregas' calibre damages any side, but it also confirms the growing feeling that Arsenal can't keep their biggest players, and are functioning as a development ground for some of the game's biggest teams.
And finally, Ronaldo has addressed the question we've all been wondering: is he really worth £80M? His answer: "I'm worth more". Well that solves that then...
Looks like another Chelsea target has escaped us.
Posted by: Anthony Calleja | 10 July 2009 at 09:01
This can't be true. Don't seem to be many other sources reporting this gossip, might just be a Skybet tactic to try and get a bit of publicity. Can't believe that Liverpool will bid enough (given us and Madrid have had offers turned down), and surely if they were going to Rafa wouldn't have done his big rant on money yesterday. Plus hasn't he said Johnson is going to be his only major transfer?
Posted by: CFC_Forever | 10 July 2009 at 09:33
Our Chelsea just can't seem to sign the big players anymore. There was a time they were tripping over each other to come to Stamford Bridge. Now one after the other they prefer everyone from Real Madrid to Omonia Nicosia to our Chelsea. Now it seems we have also failed to get Franck Ribery. And it could get worse if not only do we not sign players but they also start leaving like maybe John Terry wants to do. At this rate since we do not buy players we should also hold onto those we were going to sell like Andriy Shevchenko, Claudio Pizarro, Deco and Ricardo Carvalho. At this rate we will need them and maybe a miracle will happen and they explode into action. In desperate times like these for our Chelsea and we Chelsea fans the impossible must be possible or all is lost.
Posted by: Anthony Calleja | 10 July 2009 at 19:50
Anthony - don't panic. We're certainly not in desperate times! I know it's easy to do, but I think that the papers with all their rumour-making make us feel like the club is failing left, right and centre.
In reality we have made one good signing already and a couple of promising additions. There is still time to add to the squad too. Plus of course, the squad is pretty good as it is.
Posted by: Russell Saunders | 13 July 2009 at 12:42