Arjen Robben has gotten his wish – he will now be playing for a club that matches his ambitions AND his penchance for theatrics (it’s hard enough to find a “drama queen playing the innocent damsel in distress” in football players, but a football club?).
Yes, Chelsea have finally agreed to sell Robben to Real Madrid, for a fee believed to be around €36m (£24.5m). It’s a lot of money to pay for a winger regardless of how good Robben is, although Chelsea can be proud to not only have profited from a player’s talents but also profit from his sale. An unhappy player was never going to be of any good and Malouda brings more tenacity and more experience to the side than Robben could any day of the week.
This transfer, and now the reported transfer of Juliano Belletti from Barcelona to Chelsea (AS reports it here) for 5.5m now means that Chelsea have made money this summer and should be proud of their transfer dealings.
However, it’s not so good for Dani Alves. He’s been itching for a move to Chelsea, but with the Belletti move (surprising, as I doubt that Mourinho rates him higher than Ferreira) his only option would seem to be Real Madrid, who have just spent 35m euros on a player and would be unlikely to make such a big splash again. It’s possible, but slightly doubtful.
If Real Madrid don’t come through, Alves will stay at Sevilla and then it’ll be a very interesting 2008 summer because I’m 100% that teams like Manchester United and AC Milan will make a play for Dani Alves then as well.
I don’t agree with Chelsea’s policy of not wanting to pay a bit extra for Alves – if Alves goes to a Champions League rival or worse, to a Premier League rival next summer, then it will come to bite Chelsea back in the arse in the future. They’ve done it to other clubs by paying a bit over the top to attract great players, and it’s always going to be this way in football – you have to deal with it, but I guess being financially independent is more important at the moment.
Real Madrid’s Summer Buys
Gabriel Heinze, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Roysten Drenthe, Jerzey Dudek, Javier Saviola, Pepe and Christoph Metzelder.
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