?As? is conviced that it is Roman Abramovich who is besotted with Roberto Carlos, and Roman has therefore sent one of his henchmen to Spain to convince the player. An offer has already been sent to Madrid.
The downmarket sports daily suggests that, 3 weeks ago, a Chelsea representative met with a certain Jorge Mendes, one of Chelsea?s most-used agents (he manages Chelsea?s Portuguese contingent). And Mendes is now also Roberto Carlos? agent. The Chelsea representative put on the table an offer for a 2year contract and more than ?6,5 million net per year. That?s compared to the ?4,5 million that Roberto Carlos will be earning until his Madrid contract expires ? next June.
?As? is convinced that it is Roman Abramovich himself who is determined to bring the player to London, after 3 years of trying to sign Roberto Carlos. Apparently Mendes limited himself only to listening to the offer and promising Chelsea that he?d transmit the offer to Madrid and the player. According to the reports, that?s exactly what he?s done, and he?s shown the offer to Madrid.
We are led to believe that Abramovich and Roberto Carlos would both like a reply from Madrid before the world cup. Apparently Madrid have their doubts. Whilst Roberto Carlos? departure would be welcome (since he is 33 and very much on the decline), Madrid are also interested in some Chelsea players, there are questions as to whether they could replace a defender described as ?the best left-back in the world of these last 10 years?.
Conveniently, As tried to speak to Roberto Carlos, who declined to make any comments, just as the Liga is about to end (and Madrid are trying to secure a second place in the table) and the World Cup is about to begin. However, there are people in his entourage who are suggesting that, should Madrid offer the same conditions as Chelsea, he?d stay.
?As? ends this tale by pointing out that Chelsea have tried twice to seduce Roberto Carlos (December 20032 and April 2004), and wonder whether this will be ?3rd time lucky?. That is, despite the fact that, last March, Roberto Carlos declared that he wanted to end his football career in Madrid and he wasn?t interested in departing for money.
What a story! But we can sum it up in two words: bollox bolognaise. Is it really the case that Chelsea want to sign a 33 year-old very much on the declining end of his career? Absolutely not.
3 years ago, Roberto Carlos could (arguably) have been described as the best left-back in the world. That is certainly no longer the case. He?s grown lazy, he?s lost his pace and concentration, and a rather dissipated private life ensured that his performances on the pitch are too often sloppy. At his age, and with such a poor performance this season, it seems totally improbable that Chelsea would try to sign a player for whom the only thing going, right now, is his fame. Even his notorious free kicks have gone astray. In short, he?s really not the kind of player that Chelsea would be trying to sign. That?s before you point out that Chelsea already have Asier Del Horno and Wayne Bridge in that position, even if William Gallas can?t be persuaded to stay.
You could also factor in any number of other anomalies in the story, which does not mention, at all, José Mourinho. Apparently it?s Roman Abramovich who has decided to sign Roberto Carlos. But that?s not how it works at Chelsea, where José decides which players to bring in. The idea that Roman has decided to sign a player on a whim is simply absurd. José Mourinho would certainly not countenance the arrival of a player who?s private life is a mess and a distraction, and is no longer a team player. He is, to sum up, the opposite of the type of player with which José likes to work.
Mention is made of previous attempts to sign Roberto Carlos. That is, quite simply, a lie. There might have been a time, a few years ago, when Chelsea were interested. The most recent attempts, however, were a pure invention by Roberto Carlos? people. An interest from Chelsea was invented and spread in the media, with the net result that Madrid extended by a year their contract renewal offer. In one notorious episode, the Spanish media was reporting articles on the BBC website that simply weren?t there. In this new case, it looks suspiciously as if Roberto Carlos is doing the same: on the one hand, there is a reference to a massive offer (completely disproportionate: does anyone seriously believe that anyone would offer Roberto Carlos the equivalent of £84,000 PER WEEK), on the other hand, there is a public declaration that, should Madrid offer the creaking defender a contract extension, of course, he?d stay. Hmmm.
The suspicious part is the reference to Jorge Mendes. With an agent who seems to be so involved with both sides, it would be easy to conjure up an alleged interest from Chelsea, making it seem legitimate.
Yet the real worth or Roberto Carlos can be judged from the fact that, as well as Chelsea?s ?interest?, the stocky-legged Brazilian is said also to have received an offer to play in one of those Arabian Leagues which is a retirement home for players whose reputations far outweigh their actual worth as a player.
Conclusion: this is one of the worst rumours of the summer so far, totally improbable and a good example of how players use Chelsea to try to talk up their contract discussions with their own club.
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