helsea
They have hijacked many deals, some of them which you might be unaware of
LetÂ’s see those deals.
1) Petr Cech
How many of you buys know that Petr Cech was a target for Arsenal? Wenger had been scouting him since his days at Rennes
They wanted to sign him in 2002 when he was playing for Sparta Prague
Cech was unable to get a work permit and then moved to League 1.
Arsenal again had the opportunity to sign him but Chelsea acted quicker and acquired his services
In 2004, he joined Chelsea for £7m
He went on to become ChelseaÂ’s greatest goalkeeper since then, having won the golden gloves a couple of times.
However, Arsenal finally got their man in 2015.
2) Arjen Robben
Current Bayern Munich player had met with Sir Alex Ferguson in London hotel in the summer of 2003
They had agreed to pay £5m for his services and Robben had also agreed personal terms with the club
But the £5m fee was immediately rejected by PSV.
Roman Abramovich saw this as an opportunity to acquire his services and wasted no time
He more than doubled the offer which Manchester United were paying and acquired the services of Robben for £12m in 2004
He was a key player for Jose Mourinho, helping Chelsea win back-to-back Premier League trophies.
3) Michael Essien
“I like Manchester
I know most of their players and like them and would like to play in the Premier League one day
I like Old Trafford because it one of the nicest stadium in the Europe, and, foremost, I like Coach Sir Alex Ferguson very much
I’ll be happy to play for Manchester United, but at the moment I am in Lyon and I have to concentrate on that.”
These were Michael Essien’s words 5 months before he joined Chelsea for £24m in 2005.
4) John Obi Mikel
This could probably be the best one
The Nigerian midfielder had agreed personal terms with Manchester United, signed a contract and even passed the medical
ThatÂ’s not all; he was also announced to the public in a home kit in ahead of a move to Old Trafford.
Mikel, then aged 18, went back on his agreement and decided to play for Chelsea
Some days later he was official announced as a Chelsea player
Obviously, Chelsea had to pay £12m as compensation to Manchester United.
John Obi Mikel, in a United Jersey ahead of his move to Old Trafford, before he moved to Chelsea.
5) Florent Malouda
Former Lyon winger was poised to join Liverpool
He had long been linked for a move to the Premier League and it seems like Liverpool was the club.
However, Malouda just couldnÂ’t get a done deal at Anfield
“Rafa Benitez called me several times, a good man, a good trainer but we didn’t manage to find a way to make me join.” This is what the Frenchman said after his move to Liverpool fell out
Chelsea then capitalised on this and quickly signed Malouda for £13m in 2007.
6) Juan Mata
Chelsea hijacked the Spaniard from none other than Arsenal
Wenger would have loved to sign him as he was a perfect fit for the no 10 role; a small and a highly technical player
Arsenal bid £18m for the player, mind it, it was a then club record
Valencia rejected the bid from Arsenal.
Chelsea wasted no time to sign the highly rated midfielder
They bid £23m for the Valencia player which was accepted
It was a good buy for the club as he went on to become ChelseaÂ’s player of the year for 2 years in a row.
7) Willian
Everyone knows about this deal
Willian had passed the medical at the North London club and everything was agreed
Spurs were preparing to make the official announcement in the coming few days.
Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, then placed a personal call to oligarch and Anzhi Makhachkala owner Suleyman Kerimov and beat their North London Rivals to acquire the services of Willian for £30m in 2014
Quite embarrassing.
8) Mohamed Salah
The Egyptian midfielder was linked to a move to the Premier League with lot of clubs interested
Liverpool emerged clear favourites to sign Basel player
However the negotiations between the club and the player went on for a very long time.
“It was a long and a fair negotiation with Liverpool, but lasted for 2 ½ months too long
Both clubs could not agree on terms
When Chelsea contacted Basel, he was happy and took his chance
It was no financial matter.” said agent Sascha Empacher
Salah became the first Egyptian to sign for the Stamford Bridge club for a fee of £11m in 2014.
However, Salah couldnÂ’t really make an impact while playing and he was loaned to Fiorentina.
9) Pedro
The Barcelona midfielder had fallen down the order below Neymar, Suarez and Messi
He was desperate to leave Barcelona last summer
Manchester United first contacted the player but just couldnÂ’t agree on a deal.
Jose Mourinho, the then Chelsea manager, and former teammate, Fabregas, directly called Pedro and convinced him to join Chelsea
It was not only the player or the manager who had contacted the player
FabregasÂ’ wife, Daniella Semaan also contacted PedroÂ’s wife, Caroline Martin, to tell her about the lavish life in London.
Within no time, Pedro was on a flight to have a medical at the Stamford Bridge
United fans were frustrated with Ed Woodward as he had been late in agreeing a fee with Pedro
The Spaniard then joined The Blues for £21m in 2015.
10) Michy Batshuayi
Last but not the least; Chelsea also managed to hijack the player with whom they had hardly been linked with
The player was first set to join Spurs
But then Crystal Palace made a surprise move and had a bid of £33m accepted in the last few days
But after that, they never seemed to get going.
Spurs joined the race again and began negotiations but, out of nowhere, Chelsea’s bid of £33m was accepted and the player also passed medicals
He will be officially announced in the coming few days.
The Belgian footballer comes from the same club where King Drogba came from, Marseille, and people believe he would replicate Drogba
But that time will tell.
Source : DSG
Source: DSG