Alex is not our player yet, say
Chelsea
The controversy over the ownership of the Brazilian
defender Alex, whose goal eliminated Arsenal from the Champions
League on Wednesday, took another twist last night when Chelsea
denied that they were the owners of the player despite PSV
Eindhoven's disclosure that they "rented" him from the Premiership
champions.
There has long been the suggestion that the impressive Alex and his
Brazilian team-mate Alcides, 21, have some connection with Chelsea
but Ronald Koeman, the PSV manager, was explicit in his post-match
comments on Wednesday. "He is a Chelsea player and PSV rent him
because he is still not allowed to play in England,"he said.
While loans are commonplace in football, the practice of buying
players and registering them at other clubs remains a new approach
that is regarded in many quarters to be against the spirit of the
game but not banned outright by the rules. It means that clubs with
the resources of Chelsea would, theoretically, be able to control
the market for the best players by placing them at different clubs,
who would then pay for the privilege of having the player in the
short term.
The player himself confirmed the arrangement after the match. "I
know my contract belongs to Chelsea, but I'm a PSV player now,"
Alex said. "Yes, I would love to play in England in the Premiership
and we will see what happens at the end of the season and whether I
stay in Holland or get a chance in England with Chelsea. It would
be great for me to play for a fantastic club like Chelsea. That
would be a dream for me."
However, Chelsea have now indicated that they do not own Alex and
said that both Koeman and the player had misunderstood the
agreement that exists between them and the Dutch club. Chelsea
claim that instead of any ownership of the two players they have an
agreement with PSV that they will be given the first refusal when
the Dutch side come to sell the pair. The agreement would give
Chelsea a period where they could negotiate exclusively with
PSV.
In a statement last night, Chelsea said "He [Alex] is a PSV player.
His international transfer certificate is held by them and he is
registered with them. We have an option to buy him at the end of
the season. He is not a Chelsea player and we have no control or
influence over his selection."
Uefa, European football's governing body confirmed yesterday that
Alex is registered with PSV but the nature of the agreement that
Chelsea have with PSV, and who paid the reputed £5.7m transfer fee
when he left Santos in Brazil in 2004, is still not entirely clear.
The problem for Premiership clubs dealing in the world transfer
market is that obtaining Home Office work permits for players,
especially from South America, is problematic.
However, there are other ways of players obtaining eligibility.
Other clubs are believed to have farmed players out to Spanish
sides, where footballers can play without a work permit and then
qualify for an EU passport after two years.
