Chelsea wouldn’t be Chelsea without the odd scandal eh? And it seems we’ll be kicking off this season with yet another accusation of ‘tapping up’.
We’ve had our eye on Neymar for a couple of years and apparently had an offer of around £17 million turned down for him earlier this summer. Santos weren’t happy with this and despite the player saying he wants to leave, the Brazilian club insist they’ll only sell if his buy-out clause of £29.6 million is triggered.
Neymar’s good – good enough to score 14 goals in 19 games helping Santos win the season-opening Paulista (Sao Paulo) state championship, as well as 11 in 8 games to help them win the Copa Brasil – but Chelsea still aren’t prepared to lash out the sort of money Santos want.
Having said that, it seems Chelsea haven’t given up entirely and according to Santos, have been having cosy little chats with the player, with president Luis Alvaro Ribeiro stating “The English club presented us with a formal proposal some time back after having begun direct talks with the player and his representatives. We refused it and made it clear we had no interest in negotiating the economic rights of this player who is under contract to Santos. I found out that the siege continued. That’s intolerable in view of the ethics that must govern relations between the clubs of world football. In accordance with FIFA norms, Santos will defend their interests to prevent this type of attitude contrary to (such) principles.”
So, their lawyers are preparing a report to FIFA.
Is this a seasonal obligation for us these days or what?
Blue is the colour
