Chelsea have rejected a
massive £18 million bid from Real
Madrid for defender Alex.
The Times says Manuel Pellegrini, the Real coach, had
identified Alex as the defensive linchpin of a new-look team, but
Chelsea dismissed the offer out
of hand, mindful that Guus Hiddink, last season’s interim coach who
has worked with Alex at Stamford Bridge and PSV Eindhoven,
described the 27-year-old as one of the best defenders in
Europe.
It means that, while Chelsea
may have experienced difficulties in strengthening their squad this
summer, with Andrea Pirlo indicating that he will see out his
career with AC Milan, they have
at least managed to resist offers for all three of their central
defenders. In addition to Real’s interest in Alex,
Manchester City — Europe’s other
big spenders this summer — briefly believed that they would succeed
with an audacious bid to sign John Terry, while Inter Milan were unable to meet Chelsea’s
valuation for Ricardo Carvalho.