Andrei Shevchenko to leave Chelsea

28 August 2009 14:46
The Italian coach also rejected fresh speculation that Chelsea had made a £57 million bid for Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery. Ancelotti, speaking ahead of their Premier League clash with Burnley on Saturday, revealed Shevchenko had decided to move on because there was no guarantee of first-team football at Stamford Bridge. Shevchenko spent last season on loan with Ancelotti at AC Milan but returned to Chelsea this summer. He made an appearance as a substitute against Sunderland in their 3-1 win at the Stadium of Light. Ancelotti was hoping that the Ukrainian would play a part in Chelsea's season but the striker has decided it would be better to leave the club and find first-team football elsewhere. He is now almost certain to leave for pastures new before the closure of the transfer window in a few day's time. "I spoke with Shevchenko," said Ancelotti. "He would like to play with continuity here for me but it is difficult for me to give him the possibility to play a lot of matches and he will take the right decision for him. "He will take the decision. We have told him he can go. Sheva didn't have the possibility to play consistently, so he has taken the decision to go." Ancelotti denied that Shevchenko had chosen to quit after being omitted from the Champions League squad. "No, he did not, because I have the time to choose the squad for the Champions League," said Ancelotti. "Here, Shevchenko did not have the opportunity to play with continuity. He made the decision because of this only." Ribery's future was also the subject speculation involving Chelsea today with reports emanating from his native France that the Londoners had made a £57m bid for the player. But Ancelotti said: "No that is not true." New boys Burnley will provide Chelsea with another potential banana-skin tomorrow. Owen Coyle's side dumped Chelsea out of the Carling Cup last season and have made a fine start to life in the Premier League with victories over Manchester United and Everton. Chelsea, second in the table, have a 100 per cent record with wins over Hull, Sunderland and Fulham but Ancelotti is well aware of the task ahead - predicting an open game in the early kick-off at Stamford Bridge. "In these last three matches we played very well," said Ancelotti. "For sure, we can improve. But I didn't find in these matches a lot of mistakes. "The team played very well in these games. It's important to continue and maintain a very good motivation. "With Burnley, it's important to take control of the game. They have good quality in attack and can use the wings, the long ball, and the quality of their midfielders. It will be an open game. "They have had a very good start to the season - they beat Manchester United and Everton. I watched these games and they like to play football. "Tomorrow will be a very good match, a spectacular match. They will not come to Stamford Bridge just to defend and I am impressed with the quality of their play." Chelsea will still be without midfielder Joe Cole, defender Alex, and new signing Russian Yuri Zhirkov against Burnley. "Zhirkov is feeling a bit better and will go with the national team, if it's possible, to play with them. He's very close to a return to playing "Joe started to train with us on Tuesday. With him, we have to stay calm because he came out not easy from the injuries. We have to stay calm and work with him. "We have to put him in the squad at the right time. Now is not the time to do this, but we hope in the next few weeks that he can train and play with us. "After the international games, we'll be more precise on his return. But I think he's very close to a return to playing."

Source: Telegraph