Under scrutiny: Roman Abramovich let rip at
Chelsea's high-earners
Look out behind you: Roman Abramovich is seething
after Chelsea's Champions League exit
A furious Roman Abramovich has turned on his Chelsea
players, asking them if they are at the club only to pocket his
money.
The billionaire, who sat stony-faced during the Champions League
loss to Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan on Tuesday, challenged the
players during a two-hour meeting yesterday.
He asked them: ‘Are you good players or are you well-paid
players?’
The comprehensive defeat by Inter has also left manager Carlo
Ancelotti fighting for his future. He has been made aware that he
must deliver the Barclays Premier League title to be certain of
avoiding the sack.
Abramovich is already understood to be considering the
possibility of looking for his seventh manager since taking over in
2003 if the Italian fails to respond to a huge setback by not
landing a third English championship.
Ancelotti admitted on Tuesday night that losing to his most
prominent predecessor had put him in a precarious position. ‘I’ve
worked for a long time in this environment and I know exactly what
the expectations are,’ he said.
‘It’s normal that a manager is going to come under pressure if
he loses a few matches.’
Abramovich turned to Ancelotti because he had won the Champions
League twice as AC Milan manager. He did not expect the Italian to
fail to get beyond the last 16.
The Russian owner fears his side could be declining in much the
same manner as AC Milan and accepts that further investment is
needed.
Feeling the heat: Carlo Ancelotti is under pressure
to win the league title - or face the Stamford Bridge exit
door
Fernando Torres will be a target if Liverpool miss the
Champions League places, while there is also continued interest in
players such as Franck Ribery, David Villa and Marek
Hamsik.
Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder could also soon be on Chelsea’s
wish-list, given how impressive the Dutchman was on Tuesday
night.
