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Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's fortune still intact
Advisers play down suggestions that the Roman Abramovich's personal wealth had been badly affected by the stock market crash.
Not funny: advisers have denied Roman Abramovich may have lost £12 billion
It was reported that Abramovich had lost as much as £12 billion following the decline in value of steel-making company Evraz and mining company Highland Gold.
However, this estimate was dismissed as misleading and grossly exaggerated by associates of the Russian billionaire. Abramovich's considerable cash and property assets are thought to have been unaffected, while any stock market impact would amount to 'paper losses'. It is also understood that Abramovich has no intention of selling any of his stock.
"The figure is just as arbitrary as those you see in Forbes every year and we don't put any stock by them," Abramovich's spokesman, John Mann, said. However, Chelsea are looking to become less financially reliant on Abramovich and hope to break even by 2010.
Chelsea have opened negotiations with Lyn Oslo, of Norway, over a potential out-of-court settlement after the London club issued a £16 million High Court claim over the transfer of John-Obi Mikel.
Chelsea paid £12 million to Manchester United and £4 million to Lyn for Mikel in 2006. Since then Lyn's former chief executive, Morgan Andersen, has been convicted of fraud and making false accusations.
"The claim is against FC Lyn Oslo and Morgan Andersen," a Chelsea statement said. "It is now clear following Andersen's conviction that the transfer was based on the fraudulent misrepresentation that Mikel had an employment contract with Lyn."
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Jaap Stam Back At Old Trafford
Former center back Jaap Stam is back on the Manchester United payroll. The Dutchman has reportedly picked up a scouting job at Old Trafford...
Jaap Stam left Manchester in a hurry in 2001 after publishing his autobiography. The former defender criticized manager Alex Ferguson and some of his team-mates in his book and was subsequently sold to Italian outfit Lazio.
'The Bald Slayer' then played for three seasons with Lazio before moving on to AC Milan, where he spent two seasons. He returned to The Netherlands in order to end his career with Amsterdam giants Ajax in 2007.
He made more than 80 appearances for Manchester United and was regarded as one of the world's best defenders before his book caused some friction between himself and fiery Scot Sir Alex. The latter, however, recently announced that letting go of Stam was one of the rare mistakes he's made during his long career.
Now, seven years after his move to Italy, Stam has returned to his beloved Manchester. The 36-year-old has reportedly accepted a scouting job and has already visited Brazil to have a look at hot prospect Douglas Costa, who's currently playing for Gremio.
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Sir Alex Ferguson plans for United future
Evans can be the new Rio
Sir Alex Ferguson believes that Jonny Evans can be the new Rio Ferdinand. The Northern Ireland centre back stepped in for Nemanja Vidic away to Chelsea last month when the Serb was suspended. He rewarded Ferguson with a towering performance at Stamford Bridge, proving the Manchester United manager correct in his decision not to let Evans join Sunderland on loan for a third successive season.
Evans will have to be patient. Vidic returned against Aalborg in the Champions League and kept his place away to Blackburn Rovers last weekend. However, Ferguson has assured the 20-year-old he is the long-term successor to Ferdinand and expects the Belfast-born youngster eventually to take a stranglehold on a central defensive place.
“Evans's career is absolutely guaranteed,” Ferguson said. “He is 20, Rio Ferdinand is 30 and Nemanja Vidic is 27 so, in a few years' time, he will be the first-choice centre half, there is no question about that.”
Evans is only one of a group of talented youngsters Ferguson has assembled at Old Trafford that should keep United at the top long after the Scot has stepped down as manager. Rodrigo Possebon was outstanding in central midfield during the Carling Cup win over Middlesbrough until he got on the wrong end of Emanuel Pogatetz's disgraceful challenge and Rafael Da Silva was impressive in Denmark last week. Neither man has celebrated his 20th birthday yet, with the same, obviously, being true of Rafael's twin brother, Fabio, who is also tipped for big things by the United hierarchy, and Danny Welbeck, the England Under-19 forward.
As Anderson and Nani are only 20 and 21 respectively, Ferguson is planning far beyond his retirement date, whenever that may be. He said: “Every team needs lads of 20 or younger, who can take over from the ones that were there before who have become middle-aged in playing terms, with the middle ones becoming older. That is what you call managing change.”
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“It is true, I have always liked Italian football,” said Berbatov. “But I preferred England. I am happy there...for the time being.”
Berbatov’s national team face Italy and Georgia in a World Cup qualifying double-header that they realistically need to take four points from, at least, to stand any chance of reaching South Africa.
Having opened his United account with two goals against Aalborg in the Champions League, Berbatov is still looking for his first league goals for the club.
The Bulgarian is unfazed by his lack of goals, however, and insists that once he has fully bedded in to the team the form that saw him score 27 goals for Tottenham last season will return.
It is an assessment that teammate Park Ji Sung agrees with.
“Berbatov is a fantastic goalscorer,” said the Korean. “Both of his goals against Aalborg last week were superb and he has what it takes to score at least 25 goals for us this season.”
“He is slowly getting used to our system and I’m happy to have him as a new teammate.”
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Aiyo... The guy is in Italy or giving an Italian newspaper an interview only... So if he really did said it, he was only being polite and diplomatic at an internation arena. Can't you guys really see it ? He is in Italy for their Bulgaria vs Italy match tomorrow so when a Gazzetta dello Sport reporter asked him, naturally he would say something like that what... He is representing Bulgaria right now and not United... Do you expect him to say No, I won't play in serie A cos its shit! and only the retirees come to play here now ?
The trouble he took to get to United is well known... He was City's first choice before they went for Robinho... They had a bid accepted by Spurs and had an entourage waiting for him at the Manchester airport only for him to go with the United's representives instead... City offered him more money and he still rather go to United...
This tells you the determination he had at joining United, compare this to Robinho... who all along said he wanted to join Chelsea, Chelsea and Scolari was like "a father" to him all that stuff in his press conference... Then suddenly a bigger offer came along and he didn't very think twice and forgot Chelsea and Scolari altogether...
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Arsenal's young talent is bought not brought up, says Sunderland's Roy Keane
The chorus of approval over Arsenal’s exciting group of young players is undeserved because they have been bought rather than nurtured.
Carlos Vela was signed by Arsenal from his native Mexico
That’s the view of Sunderland manager Roy Keane, who believes the large sums Arsenal spend on young players is too often overlooked. “You go on about the kids coming through, but a lot of them have been bought from other clubs,” said Keane.
“A lot of these kids haven’t come through the academy at Arsenal, they’ve been bought. “We have to watch who’s coming to watch our youth team because we’ve had people coming along who should not be there, scouts from other clubs.”
An Arsenal team with an average age of 19 defeated Sheffield United 6-0 in the Carling Cup last month. Mexican 18-year-old Carlos Vela scored four goals while Arsenal also included young players from Poland, Cameroon, Spain and Ivory Coast.
Aaron Ramsey, 17, was signed from Cardiff for £5 million, while London-born players like Jack Wilshere and Gavin Hoyte have come through the club’s youth system.
“That game made me very envious,” said Keane in the Express . “But we’ve got some decent kids here as well. “The word on the street is that Arsenal have a group of kids coming through that will be absolutely outstanding. Anyone who works in youth football will tell you that.
“They buy a lot of these young players, so as much as we praise them for bringing young kids through they’re buying them from other clubs. “It’s the same with Chelsea and one or two clubs like that. People would be reluctant to spend £3 million on an academy player, but that’s what Manchester United have done, that’s what Chelsea have done and Manchester City.
“Look at the teams in the FA Youth Cup final last year and not many came through the ranks. Even though they get a lot of credit for it, they’ve actually bought these players. “It’s not all bad stuff,” continued Keane. “If someone goes on to get in the first team who they bought from Millwall for £50,000, that money could keep a smaller club going.”
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Platini slammed the Qataris of buying Premier League clubs.
But the problem is... At last count there were no Qataris buying Premier League clubs.
UEFA president Michel Platini has criticised the influx of foreign owners into the Barclays Premier League, claiming clubs are losing their identity as a result. The Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover of Manchester City in August was the latest in a line of deals which has seen Britain's top sides sell out to overseas investors.
But Platini felt clubs should be doing more to protect their roots. "If you bring people from Qatar and there is no-one from Liverpool or Manchester at the club, where is Liverpool or Manchester?" he said.
"I think it is not good. I think the Qataris should invest in Qatar. They should develop the football in each country."
Platini wants to introduce measures to prevent the trend developing across Europe. "Can we do something against it? I will try to," he added. "Do you want in Liverpool an Arab sheikh as president with one Brazilian coach and nine or 11 African players?
"Where is Liverpool in that? We have to make some rules. "What is football? Football is a game and this game has become popular because of the identity. "You have to have identity, that is where football's popularity lies."
Platini's remarks follow similar comments from FIFA counterpart Sepp Blatter earlier this week that "something has to be done about these billionaire owners".
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TORRES’ GOAL IS TO SINK UNITED
Fernando Torres feels he is edging back to the peak of his extraordinary powers, as he revealed that he is dreaming of scoring against Manchester United in the Champions League final this season.
Liverpool striker Torres says he still has room for improvement despite embarking on another goalscoring spree with two goals in each of his last two appearances. Torres has exploded into life following a rare lull in his fortunes which stretched six games – one he claims was due to his exertions last season when he helped Spain win Euro 2008 after a debut campaign at Anfield.He is currently joint top of the Premier League scoring charts with five goals, having finished with 33 last season. He said: “I don’t know exactly what my longest run is without a goal, but it’s definitely longer than six games.
“At Atletico Madrid it was sometimes difficult for me. During my first year we finished mid-table and it was tough to score, so I went a long time without doing so. “Here it is different because this is a really big club. We are challenging at the top of the table and competing for trophies, so six games is too many. I hope that was my worst run without scoring for Liverpool. I don’t want to go that long again.
Torres, 24, followed up a double in the Merseyside derby win over Everton with two more strikes in Liverpool’s fightback against Manchester City on Sunday. But it is against Manchester United that he yearns to open his account, having failed to find the net against Sir Alex Ferguson’s side since coming to England.
He was a non-playing substitute for Liverpool’s first league win over United under manager Rafa Benitez last month as he protected a hamstring injury, but is eyeing a winning goal against United in the Champions League final in Rome in May. “Every player wants to score against their biggest rivals,” he said. “It matters so much to the fans and I think it would mean even more to them if I scored against Manchester United.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance so far this season. Hopefully I’ll have an opportunity to do so when we play at Old Trafford after Christmas, or maybe in the Cup – or the Champions League final.
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CHELSEA PASS THE BUCK
Chelsea last night refused to accept any blame for driving up fees and wages and causing football’s debt mountain.
Club chairman Bruce Buck claimed instead that the Blues were victims of their own bulging wallet, with other clubs bumping up prices just for them. He said: “From the start there was a transfer market for everyone else and then one for Chelsea.“When a player was being sold, if we were interested then the price doubled. The problem is that everyone wants to charge Chelsea more than anyone else. “The guy that delivers the milk, the guy that sells us pencils, clubs that sell us players. We have resisted that. In August we resisted with Robinho and said ‘no’. That price was too high.”
Football Association chairman Lord Triesman sent shockwaves through football when he revealed English football is sitting on a financial black hole of £3billion of potential debts. Spiralling fees and wages that have caused such debt have led many to point the finger at Chelsea and their owner Roman Abramovich – especially with his early seasons of massive spending.
More than £100million was spent on new players in that period – and more than £600m on the club in all over the past five years. Chelsea are among the most indebted of English clubs, owing some £736m. But they owe that to Abramovich and not to the banks.
Buck claimed that their debt was ‘irrelevant’ – just as UEFA general secretary David Taylor warned that clubs with excessive borrowing might be thrown out of the Champions League and UEFA Cup. Taylor wants to prevent clubs’ borrowing spiralling out of control and said: “We will not flinch if we have to exclude clubs from Europe’s elite competition.”
However, unlike some of their rivals, Chelsea do not have any external debt and Buck insists the club have not simply hoarded “a bunch of galacticos” but were instead looking to identify and develop English talent.
Buck said: “One of our priorities is finding young English players. “They settle more quickly and understand the culture and dynamics of the English game. Money goes a long way but it doesn’t necessarily get you over the line.”
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MUTU REFUSING TO PAY FINE
Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu has no intention of paying the heavy fine handed down to him by FIFA.
The Romania international has been ordered to pay 17million euros (£13.4million) to former employers Chelsea as a result of a cancelled contract at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues terminated Mutu's deal in October 2004 following a failed drugs test and an admission by the player that he had taken cocaine during his time at the club. He was subsequently banned from action for seven months, but immediately signed for Serie A giants Juventus upon the conclusion of that punishment.
The 29-year-old then moved on to Fiorentina in 2006, rediscovering his best form with the Viola. He insists he will not let the fine hanging over his head affect his game and steadfastly refuses to meet the demands of FIFA.
"What has happened to me is not right and I will fight for my rights," he said. "It is pleasing to have the support of the Association of Romanian Players and the intentional syndicate for professional players (FIFPro).
"I'm proud to see that we are all thinking the same thing."
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Keano blasts Young Gunns
NOT KEANE ... Roy rapped Gunners antics
ROY KEANE reckons Arsenal do not deserve all the credit for their new crop of Young Gunns. Keano fears for kids trying to come through academy systems while big Premier League clubs lie in wait ready to poach the best ones.
The Sunderland gaffer said: “The word on the street is they have a group of kids coming through that will be absolutely outstanding. “But you go on about the kids coming through but a lot of them have been bought from other clubs, not through the academy at Arsenal. It’s the same with Chelsea.
“We have tough battles up here in terms of signing young players and are restricted in terms of our location. “You can only bring in kids from a certain radius and a lot of our radius is in the water. Any good fish out there?”
Meanwhile, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is ready to raid his old club Monaco again for their top striker. French ace Frederic Nimani — 21 yesterday — said: “Arsenal and Real Madrid are discussing me and that tells me I’m progressing in the right way.”
Wenger lured Emmanuel Adebayor to London from Monaco in January 2006.
ARSENAL have failed in a bid to lure Millwall deputy executive chairman Heather Rabbatts to the Emirates. Rabbatts was offered the chief executive role. But she said: “Until I’ve done what I need to do at Millwall I am not looking to move.” The Gunners have also been snubbed by Peter Lawwell of Celtic.
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Originally posted by hiphop2009:
it doesnt mean Everton FC will sure win Liverpool FC.
Just look at the match Liverpool FC VS Manchester City. Manchester City is way richer than Liverpool FC but......
You are not seriously taking that one match as a yardstick are you? The problem here is not now, present day but in 2, 3 or 5 yrs down the road...Another point is, City didn't became the richest club months or weeks ago at that time. They only became the richest club hours before the transfer window closed... Despite that, the signing of Robinho right under the noses of Chelsea, the former richest club in the would and breaking the premiership transfer record is a sign of their intent... I have no doubt that more quality players will arrive at City very soon when the window reopens... And once they have got all these in order, they could be the 2nd Chelsea in the making...
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