Chelsea have hit back at Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon's
claims their billionaire owner Roman Abramovich's spending power
may cause problems for other teams.
Calderon, elected Real president this summer, believes the double
Premiership champions are over-inflating transfer fees for other
European clubs and expressed concern at the huge financial loss the
Blues have made since Abramovich arrived.
But Chelsea responded in kind by accusing Real of not being
completely transparent in their own accounts. Calderon told BBC
Radio Five Live: "I think it's a problem - it's putting the prices
very high. "He is paying a lot of money for players, but we have to
compete with it.
"In Abramovich's case, he admitted to having lost 220million euros
(nearly £150million) last season. "For me, it's very
dangerous."
Calderon is also worried what would happen were the Russian to walk
away from Stamford Bridge. "You don't know how long those people
are going to stay in soccer," he said. "If somebody decides to
leave, it's going to be a problem."
Chelsea insist they are more than capable of covering their losses
and have reiterated Abramovich's commitment to the club.
