Chelsea remain on collision course with contract rebels
Frank Lampard and Arjen Robben, insisting they will not buckle
under pressure to offer better deals to the players. With Real
Madrid increasingly confident that they can prise Arjen Robben away
from Stamford Bridge and Lampard insisting that he wants his
contract settled by tomorrow, both players' futures at the club
appear to be in doubt.
Sources at Chelsea say that the club have been wholly unmoved by
Lampard's recent statements in the media, asking for a swift
resolution to his contract talks, and Chelsea chief executive Peter
Kenyon has no formal meetings planned to resolve the issue. Lampard
has rejected the club's offer of a new contract worth £110,000 a
week and is understood to want pay parity with Michael Ballack and
Andriy Shevchenko, who earn about £130,000 a week.
Reports in Spain that Real Madrid have reached an agreement with
Robben's representatives for the 23-year-old winger have also left
Chelsea unimpressed, even though Real president Ramon Calderon has
become increasingly frenetic in his pursuit of the player.
The Dutchman has yet to sign a new deal, worth about £90,000 a
week, which was offered to him at the end of last season. Both
players have two years of their existing contracts to run and the
club insist that neither is for sale. Chelsea reported the Spanish
club to FIFA in May after Calderon said he had spoken with Robben's
representatives.
The Dutch winger is represented by his father, Hans, who denied at
the time that he had spoken to other clubs. But Real believe it
would be worth their while to bid for Robben, although their £15
million valuation is likely to fall well short of Chelsea's. The
Spanish champions desperately need a replacement for David Beckham
and to announce a star transfer to coincide with the appointment of
new manager Bernd Schuster this week. Robben is the winger they
want most, not least because of his strong relationship with
striker and compatriot Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Lampard's choices are less certain. Chelsea have consistently
stated that Lampard, 29, who says he wants to say at Stamford
Bridge, has only two options: to sign the deal offered to him,
thought to be worth £110,000 a week or to continue on his current
contract, worth around £70,000 a week, for two more years.
Lampard has spoken about moving to Spain in the past, as his
fiancee, Elen Rives, is from Barcelona. However, the Catalan club
last week signed Yaya Toure from Monaco for £6m as their new
first-choice midfielder, while Txiki Begiristain, the club's
sporting director, insisted the current midfield trio of Deco,
Andres Iniesta and Xavi will all be staying at the club. Having
spent almost £30m recruiting Thierry Henry, Toure and left-back
Eric Abidal, Barcelona appear content with their recruitment for
the new season.
It seems Lampard will have to hope for a bid from Real Madrid or
Juventus, now managed by his former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri,
if he does wants to move abroad. The midfielder, who was booed by
England fans at Wembley in May, has insisted that he will bounce
back next season and overcome the jeers. "I'll get through it I
am quite tough," said Lampard.
Chelsea captain John Terry has also rejected his contract offer
from the club, thought to be worth £110,000 a week, and like
Lampard wants his salary to match Ballack's and Shevchenko's. But
Kenyon is determined to bring Chelsea's wage costs down and the
club feel that the offers made to all three players are
generous.
