Chelsea to miss out on Franck Ribery as Real Madrid raise the stakes

29 May 2009 10:18
The current AC Milan manager revealed in his autobiography that he had identified Ribery as the perfect addition to Chelsea's squad as long as a year ago, when he first started having talks with owner Roman Abramovich about taking charge at Stamford Bridge. Ancelotti believes Ribery would add the kind of flair and excitement that Abramovich craves, with the Russian willing to fund the move for one big name player this summer. However, will Real Madrid, according to a report in the Times newspaper, set to offer more than £40 million for the player, Chelsea are now likely to miss out. Bayern were originally asking for £50 million for Ribery – a fee that would eclipse the current world record transfer, also paid by Real Madrid when they signed Zinedine Zidane from Juventus for £45.6 million in 2001 – though Real are confident of securing his signature for less. Ancelotti's future will be decided at Milan following the club's final Serie A match of the season against Fiorentina this weekend, with his expected move to Chelsea set to be swift. With Ribery now out of Chelsea's reach, other alternatives will be considered. Aston Villa winger Ashley Young's name has been raised at Stamford Bridge already, and he would inject pace and width in to a squad that has been found lacking in both qualities in recent months. However, Chelsea, mindful of Villa's successful resistance to Liverpool's attempts to buy Gareth Barry last season, fear he may be over priced, especially for a 23-year-old whose obvious talent and promise is beyond doubt but whose experience is still not huge. A simpler and cheaper option would be Yuri Zhirkov, the Russian international left-sided player who has been recommended by interim manager Guus Hiddink. The CSKA player is not an out-and-out offensive player like Ribery but his versatility makes him valuable, able as he is to provide cover at left-back as well as operate successfully in midfield. Chelsea would sign him as a left winger to put pressure on Florent Malouda, whom the club signed two years ago when they had the option to buy Ribery for less than half the figure being quoted to them today.

Source: Telegraph