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.
