Chelsea have rejected a massive £18 million bid from Real Madrid for defender Alex.
The Times says Manuel Pellegrini, the Real coach, had identified Alex as the defensive linchpin of a new-look team, but Chelsea dismissed the offer out of hand, mindful that Guus Hiddink, last season’s interim coach who has worked with Alex at Stamford Bridge and PSV Eindhoven, described the 27-year-old as one of the best defenders in Europe.
It means that, while Chelsea may have experienced difficulties in strengthening their squad this summer, with Andrea Pirlo indicating that he will see out his career with AC Milan, they have at least managed to resist offers for all three of their central defenders. In addition to Real’s interest in Alex, Manchester City — Europe’s other big spenders this summer — briefly believed that they would succeed with an audacious bid to sign John Terry, while Inter Milan were unable to meet Chelsea’s valuation for Ricardo Carvalho.