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.
