Of course we all root for Liverpool!!. It is not just that they have a Spanish coach and team, I just couldn't stand the thought of Abramovich getting a CL, being the cancer that I believe he is for European soccer. Chelsea wins the EPL, then the CL....next thing they'd be comparing themselves to us for the next 5 years, and taking into account their resources they may have actually become some real competition in a very short term. To me this weighted a lot more than my appreciation for Liverpool into wanting them to win the semifinal. I wanted Chelsea to lose no matter what. I am still very happy that Liverpool won for what it is though, however I am still thinking...if Liverpool wins they'll have 5 CL's, if AC Milan wins it will be 7 CL's (I think)...hey, these people are getting too close. Let's get another one next year so Chelsea stays as a wannabe.
Sorry - I know this really doesn't add anything to the thread, but I was just wondering how one can fault Chelsea for having tons of money to spend on their team when Real is one of the world's wealthiest clubs and does a similar thing in terms of acquiring talent.
You are right to a degree, but it worth keeping in mind two points: Barcelona, Inter, Milan & Manchester spend just as much on players as RM does. And most of the Galacticos took salary cuts to come play for RM - I am not aware of any Chelsea player doing that.
How can anyone compare chelsea with any of the great european clubs is beyond me. Here we have a team which lost all it stood for in 2003, from being a london heartland club like west ham with close conections to the community suddenly it becomes bankrolled overnight and owned by a dubious character with more connections in clubs worldwide (see PSV, CSKA etc etc) which allow him a semi monoploy on transfer but who is unable to land any true world class player. And yes whatever anyone may say Chelsea may have a selection of very good players but none of the level of say Ronaldo, Shevchenko, Ronaldinio ... to name a few. Furthermore they have one cocky portuguese scumbag who happened to win the champions league last year mainly due to monaco and deportivo having inspired days to beat Madrid and Milan respectively. This person claims he is the best coach in the world? When Benitez with half a team managed to beat him at his game? I'm happy for Liverpool to reach the final, and to at last see the most successful club in England back to where they belong. And this is coming from someone who USED to support Chelsea during the Dixon, Townsend, Wise etc years when Chelsea was Chelsea and before it sold out to some russians millions and his truckload of plastic supporters.
I posted this in the Liverpool forum earlier, but at the risk of repeating myself, hey, let Chelsea spend all they want. It means that people no longer see Real Madrid as the buy-all Great Satan of world football.
True. But I'm not saying that RM and Chelsea are equal in anyway except that they both spend big bucks on getting the talent they want. At this point, there is no comparison between RM and Cheslea in terms of history and the prestige of playing for the club. RM has been a significant presence in both La Liga and on the European stage for many years and has some impressive silverware to show for it - this is why Galacticos come to RM and take pay cuts . . . though one must admit that despite this, they earn a pretty decent salary anyway! Chelsea, on the other hand, lacks this drawing power and has to lure players with large sums of money. But as you pointed out, RM, Barca, Inter and all the other big names of European football spend substantial amounts of money as well on transfers and player salaries. So my gripe is: why is it that people tend to villify the Blues for spending millions on players when other teams do exactly the same thing? If Chelsea were to say they were as 'big' of a club as RM, then I understand why people would cry b.s. on that - because there *is* no comparison. But when people describe them as the "buy-all Great Satan of the World" [as C-towner so eloquently put it!], I think that is unfair since they are not the only team in European football with those kinds of resources. I feel the same way when Real is described as that as well.
Great point, Butterfingers! Well, we can put an end (finally) to this Jose Mourinho speculation as the man has just extended his contract 'till 2010. So it looks extremely, extremely unlikely that he'll be the Next coach at Madrid. (Hooray for the 'Strong fan of Chelsea' )
Because it is not the same thing. We could write a lot on this, endless posts...and mine have a tendency of getting too long. This one is for sure going to be one of those Just understand this: there is, or was up until Abramovich came into the picture, a way of doing business in European soccer that defined the character of the top teams. Some, like Real Madrid, Juventus or MU appeal to their "class", while others like Inter of Milan every once in a while would just use big fat checks to get what they wanted or spend more money than the higher clubs without making much sense with it. Let's call these group 1 and group 2. Group 1 would not like to spend large sums of money on the players they wanted, and would still get the ones they wanted most of the time. These players were lured by the prestige of the clubs, their true possibilities of getting titles, and fame. The fact that the "galacticos" took pay cuts to come to Real Madrid, and even gave Real their promotional and merchandising rights (something unheard of before), says a lot. Juventus is another one of this group: if you want to play for them, do it to wear their shirt, not just for the money and the recognition (they will also not just pay any amount to get a player), Group 2 (Inter, Barca), would spend enormous amounts of money getting a whole legion of players (their numbers are head turning), to try to compete instead of going after one or two of the true heavyweights. They actually spend more money than those in group 1, gaining very little from it. Chelsea has also been in this group until now. However, there was a common denominator in the dealings of both: they would try not to overspend on a single player or do it so repeatedly that the market would break, also trying to respect one another as much as possible (not always of course, but actually most of the time) when going after a player. If a team comes and offers 10 mill for somebody, and another one comes and suddenly offers 25, the next bid is going to be what, 30?. If the player in question is a defender, not anybody in the current top 20 let's say, the prices for all defenders all over increases. Example: Real wants Carvahlo. After months of hard negotiations they are going to get him for 18 mill., after finally breaking down the player and club of origin to sell. Chelsea comes in and Abramovich in the last minute offers 30 plus a much bigger salary.....if this had happened before Real bought Samuel for 30, what would Roma had asked for, 50? for a defender?. Well, Real did spend over 20 in Woodgate after all of this. Pretty soon the waterboy will get a price tag on him. This is called breaking the market, and it affects everyone, every team. Chelsea has made a habbit of making offers to 50 players every year. Every time another major team is involved in a negociation, Abramovich comes in and suddenly offers 100% more than what is being offered. This caused coaches and clubs from all over Europe to make even UEFA officials protest last summer and talk against Abramovich, if you recall. Just last year there wasn't any big team in Europe negociating over a player that didn't get Chelsea in there at the wrong time(after the other club has done all the hard work) simply doubling the market's price. Since Chelsea is at this level the market has just been getting more and more expensive. What's to happen to middle teams like Valencia, Deportivo, Atletico if prices keep on going up like this? where are they going to look for players if they cannot get one with a name already made for himself the way that this is going?. If this good for competition?. No, it is not. I could only remind you that each and every player of Real Madrid has been made an offer from Abramovich (even Salgado lately), sometimes some of them were offered 100 mill. all at once. This offers have come tipically in the middle of the season, in a clear attempt to create instability in the team (before a key game, etc..). Tell me that Chelsea plays the game fair and square and explain to me why 8 or 9 out of our starting 11 have receiving mind-shattering offers from Abramovich. This is not normal. Go look somewhere else, try to develop a youth base at the least like Real does (and most other teams by the way) to support you, etc... Also consider that even Real Madrid has an income, expenses and a budget. Chelsea does not, Abramovich is just that rich, so he doesn't have to worry about bankruptcy, getting voted out in an election, etc... Real Madrid cannot take the risk of offering 100 mill for a single player. Nor they have the money (no we do not). Abramovich plays the game just like you or I would play it in the PC or a Playstation with cheats on, he is simply breaking the rules. Real Madrid has made an enormous effort to get out of debt, be great again, to build better instalations, schools, make a TV channel, have a name in merchandising all over the world...just like MU or Juventus. Chelsea comes in this picture with no headaches, no work to do, no problems to solve.....just a big checkbook and the most cutthroat business manners ever seen in the sport?. As I said in the beginning, it is not the same thing.
Man give chelsea a break, they've never been a big club and now they are, what's your problem with that? yes they have money well so do real madrid, rm has had that money longer than chelsea has that's why players might want to join real despite the numbers on the pay check, i reckon that's a myth too, not all soccer players crave to join real madrid e.g. kaka went to milan instead of real. Teams like chelsea don't have the luxury of having a glorious past. So how else are they supposed become a "big" club. You're also telling chelsea to get players from their youth system how many of real madrids first 11 are from your "youth systems"? Another myth is that chelsea are buying single players for 100million, can you please cut the crap and back up your claims, i mean you might be right but i just haven't come across that kind of info.They spent 110million pounds on ALL of their players not ONE also for your information and everyone elses ricardo carvalho was bought for 19million not 30million. http://www.soccerbase.com/transfers_by_team.sd?teamid=536 That also shows in reality how much chelsea does spend instead all these myths. "Abramovich plays the game just like you or I would play it in the PC or a Playstation with cheats on, he is simply breaking the rules" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA............What rules are they?I think the same could be said for real madrid looking at the list of their purchases and at least chelsea buys players for tactical reasons. Hey i'm sure abramovic worked hard for his cash so why can't he go on a spending spree.
I wouldn't be all that sure he worked hard for that money.. not even sure he made them legally. But Elcordobez has a point. I have not heard any such info that Chelsea had bid outrageous sums of money to Real players in the middle of the season to shake things up. That's a big accusation that Iberian should be prepared to back up. I do however believe Abramovitch could be that unscrupulous.
The way that they got it, how they work with it, how it affects the others, as explained above. I don't think that Abramovich needs your compassion. At the level of competition, the fact that Real Madrid is structured as a club, as a great organization that reaches out to the rest of the world...it isn't just the money. Chelsea is the richest club, and they have nothing in infrastructures. ???, really? Even if this was true, Milan is to the same level of Real Madrid, in the same group. Becoming one. Casillas, Raul, Guti, Pavon, Borja, Jurado....plus Etoo in Barcelona, and a very long list of maybe 20-30 players in other first div. teams that have come from Real's youth system. You are talking about one of the best schools in the world. It was 30 mill. EUROS, not 19 mill POUNDS, look at link provided below. 100 mill. were just offered to Adriano. Also 100 mill. were offered to Real for Raul and Ronaldo before. Abramovich is probably not a clean businessman. His tactics are very cutthroat, sometimes illegal and even sanctioned. This is nothing new. This one just made to Adriano, 100 mill to Inter http://www.as.com/articulo.html?xref=20050427dasdasftb_9&type=Tes&d_date=20050427&anchor=dasftb Chelsea has been sanctioned with 3 points for negotiating illegally with Ashley Cole. They'll start next year the season with -3 http://www.as.com/articulo.html?xref=20050423dasdaiftb_48&type=Tes&d_date=20050423&anchor=dasftb Abramovich controls 6 clubs around the world, about to be 7 with the purchase of Happoel Tel Aviv. PSV, Corinthians, CSKA, Oporto, Dinamo Tiblisi..... just a taste of his new purchasing tactics, as mentioned in the article: Tevez: 1st came Oporto, then PSV, finally Corinthians after the can was opened. Robinho: 1st PSV trying, then Oporto, and when Real has shown up, Chelsea. Nihat: CSKA is going in first...then Chelsea who should finally take him. This is playing with a lot of cards, besides the point of not needing a youth system. He's bought 6 already. http://www.as.com/articulo.html?xref=20050422dasdaiftb_36&type=Tes&d_date=20050422&anchor=dasftb This article, http://www.as.com/articulo.html?xref=20050312dasdaiftb_38&type=Tes&d_date=20050312&anchor=dasftb Chelsea has spent over 650mill in 2 years!. 278 in player signings. In two years. This comes direct from the Brasilian congress, where it has been denounced that MSI, Abramovich's company which controls Corinthians is washing money from the mafia. http://www.as.com/articulo.html?xref=20050312dasdaiftb_38&type=Tes&d_date=20050312&anchor=dasftb Just one more to finish this. http://www.as.com/articulo.html?xref=20050301dasdaiftb_1&type=Tes&d_date=20050301&anchor=dasftb taken from this article: Makelele: the offer from Chelsea at the time in which he was asking for a raise made us not be able to negociate properly with him. We lost him for 24 mill. Salgado, Roberto Carlos: Both of them were made offers in the middle of the season, and when their contracts were to expire at the end of it. Real was forced to negociate with them ahead of time. Roberto to 2007 and Salgado to 2009. Carvalho, Robinho: Yes, Chelsea paid 30 million for Carvahlo, you are wrong, when Real had done all the hard work and was getting him for half. Robinho is the only one that it seems we have clear, with Chelsea going after him after we do. I could find another 100 articles like this. Don't ask anymore. However this forum is to talk about Real Madrid and I shouldn't be doing this. If you think that Chelsea and Abramovich have clean hands, that they perform business in an appropiate manner, that they are simply just another club and that they do not represent a danger for the sport, you are wrong. However you can think whatever you want.
You make many good points, Iberian. But if I understand you correctly, your bottom line is that financial resources are the greatest factor in football. But if that was really true, then Getafe would have no chance when they played RM. Yet they dominated play against us & won a game against RM at 2-1. And I don't see it as a fluke. They are a solid mid-level team with almost no financial resources. Getafe walked in to the Nou Camp & said they were going to win the game. They didn't, but you have to admire their spirit. So, in other words, Chelsea's greater financial resources are not the last word on the subject. Because RM is to Getafe in terms of finance as Chelsea is to RM. Getafe is using an RM youth coach and a half-dozen ex-RM players. This goes along with my theory that when our coaches leave our red hot subs on the bench (Solari, Owen & Guti) and sleep walk through the games, then it kills our fighting spirit. Getafe has more to teach us than Chelsea.
Of course I admire Getafe and any other small team that shows character and will and to achieve their objectives with such a small amount of resources, it's one of the things that make soccer great. My point is that Chelsea is adding something to soccer in general that in the end affects mainly teams like Getafe. There was a certain financial balance in european soccer in what respects to transfer fees that is being smashed to pieces right now by Abramovich, which is the fact that the rich teams would set limits amongst themselves as to how much they would pay for a star player, so they would not just make prices more and more expensive season after season making their own well being more and more difficult. When you have a new player coming in who does not have financial limits and he makes an offer to any player that these big teams are going after, he makes those teams have to offer more money, therefore increasing market prices. It is nothing more in the interests of Abramovich than to see other top clubs go bankrupt or simply not get what they want, and that is exclusively his only way of doing business. Last summer there was not one of the top 10 clubs in Europe that did not have to compete against Chelsea to get a player, pay more than what they should have or simply forget about it. This summer is going to be more of the same. The traditional top european soccer clubs lure players in not just through money, but through an sports plan with attractive objectives (getting or having other stars in the team...), tradition, prestigue, a competitive league, so they set themselves a price to go get the player and do not move from it. Carvahlo let's say, was priced at 10 given the current market prices (having paid over 25 for Samuel I believe, an Argentinian defender of known quality coming from several years in Italy, champion of the Calcio, mature, etc..., how are you going to pay more than half of what he is worth for a 20 year old from Oporto coming from the Portuguese league, it doesn't make sense). Real came to offer 18 I think for him, and then when the deal was done Chelsea came in offering 30. This doesn't completely affect Real, who can also look elsewhere and possibly even do better, but what does this do to middle teams like Deportivo, Sevilla, Betis, French teams, most German teams, most British teams, etc...?. A Carvahlo, as long as one top team in Europe is on the race luring Chelsea in as well, has suddently become out of reach for most, while before he wasn't. Middle teams will barely be able to get many interesting purchasable players at a reasonable price, they will be forced to look far away and take more chances than what they should. Imagine a team like Getafe, if we are now paying 30 million for just about anybody. They can still make a respectable fighting team, but let's be clear on this, their objective will always be to avoid relegation, with no real chances to grow and find stability in 1st div. Eventually, they will come down. You know, not too long ago Deportivo was one of those teams, but Lendoiro could then go into Brazil and get players like Bebeto, Mauro Silva or Rivaldo for next to nothing. Deportivo became a contender and grew with this players, including economically. Thanks to Chelsea and what it is bringing into the market, the probability of Getafe ever doing something like this is not only small, but getting smaller by the day. It's all a chain reaction. To this, add how Chelsea deals with other teams (even UEFA hates them now), where there money is coming from, what they are contributing to their own local soccer (how many british players they have, what are they contributing with their schools to the country they are in, etc...), I mean, Abramovich has very little business ethics, even for this sport. How can I just say that Chelsea is simply competing fairly against everybody else?. You are right in one thing though, RM can always have a team at the same level of Chelsea's, only with a little more fighting spirit like Getafe and that would be it, but what about Getafe?. You see, the entry in the picture of a player like Abramovich affects everyone, the top teams in the short term, and the small in the long term. Add to this the fact that what Abramovich is doing is attracting others like him into the game. How many other Russians of dubious backgrounds are going around trying to purchase teams in England and Italy? (Parma, MU, etc...). Even Abramovich is rumoured to want to purchase Deportivo (or invest in it through 3rd parties, same thing). A soccer team is a great platform to use for money laundering, do not be mistaken. It is this type of benefit people like Abramovich are really after, nothing else. There is nothing good they do or benefit to the sport, not to me.
You know, its funny. My favorite all time player is someone who made Real what they are today. Even if he is a monumental **************, he remains, in my mind, the greatest player that has ever lived and played the game. And I'm a big admirer of Real's history, and know it quite well. Especially the fact that Chelsea's first European trophy was won in the last game Gento ever played for El Madrid. However, Iberan's posts in this thread are an absolutely amazing demonstration of lies, half truths and self deception. To suggest a football club is a good way to launder money is just ubelievably dumb. I don't think Iberian has any more of a clue how to "launder" money than the guys in Office Space. Probably less. How do you launder money when the assets you purchase decrease in value instantly? In a highly public entity with rules as to purchase, and the constant willingness of Chelsea to let players walk away on free contracts? It makes no sense once so ever. He's spent half a million pounds. How in the world can he launder that money? He can't. As for all of this "class" that we're talking about....................several points. Real acquired their "class" by spending like crazy. If you'll recall, Don Alfredo played his first three games in Spain wearing a Blaugrana shirt. (They were friendlies.) The way to achieve this history is to spend large, which is the way Real did it. Unless Puskas, Kopa, DiStefano, Rial and Santamaria were youth team products? No? Hmmmmmmm...............On top of that, the "destruction of the transfer market" theory in relation to Chelsea can be discounted by anyone with the simple knowledge of economics and the definition of "outlier". If Chelsea buy 5 players, the market as a whole is unaffected. As for Roman's shady money.................one word: Franco. (Who, as far as I know, is still dead.) In short, I have a lot of respect for Real, and their traditions. And by now, no one really remembers quite how much of that was achieved. (Hint - money from, ah, somewhat questionable sources.) For Real fans to complain about Chelsea (and I should note, very few Real fans do this) is ironic, funny and hypociritical all at once, especially given the $200M sale of the training facility to the city of Madrid. Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. As Ctowner has pointed out, enjoy your temporary reprieve from the Great Satan status of European football. P.S. Iberian's suggestion that Chelsea's arrival to "big club" status is unfair is patently absurd. In fact, if you compare the Real of 1953 to the Chelsea of 2003, the similarities are eerie. Some top 5 finishes, several Cup wins, no league trophies in ages, definitely third banana in the league at best. Ah, what money can do.
You're basing your research on AS? That's just pathetic. So many things untrue here. MSI is NOT controlled by Roman. PSV certainly is not. All he's done for CSKA is sponsor their shirt through his company. The 100 million for Adriano is a crap rumor. The 3 points docked for next season is a rumor. Its not fact. How can you possibly suggest he controls Porto? That's ludicrous - he just bought two players from Porto! That's all! These posts are hysterical, and most of them are factually wrong. I realize that this is the Real Madrid forum, and ergo I apologize for the digression. I won't answer posts here, to respect that, but I dislike seeing my club dragged through the mud with completely unfounded (and quite frankly ridiculous) charges. If you want to discuss this further, take it to PMs or a UEFA forum. My apologies to Sinko and Ctowner.
The russian named in charge of MSI shows up on Abramovich's biography....open your eyes a bit. By law you can't have ownership in several clubs like this, but it doesn't mean you can't control them. Just a search on google with keywords "Roman" and "MSI", yields links like this: http://www.playerhistory.com/article.asp?ARTID=248 http://www.cherwell.org/?id=2780 http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php?type=view&article_id=1091 http://www.futebolthebrazilianwayoflife.com/view.asp?ArticleId=16 http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1370763,00.html http://www.esportsmediagroup.com/web/Articles/330/1/International-men-of-mystery.aspx http://www.elboleto.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=1341 http://www.diariocambio.com/11022005/deporte/tevez.html http://www.commersant.com/page.asp?id=-3941 I could get about 1000 more....he is under investigation in Brazil by the police, which AS echoed, nothing more. Read through just these articles, some of the most common words through them are "money laundering". MSI takes right now on 51% of the profits of Corinthians after a 15% investment, and it goes on and on....clearly, as said in several articles above, Abramovich is creating a "farming" system for Chelsea. Players from Porto, Corinthians and CSKA are simply moving from one to the other.....don't even bet on where Tevez will eventually end up...there is more than reasonable doubt here, and at the very least you can't call what he is doing "normal". ....like the 15% sponsorship of MSI on Corinthians to control 51% of the club....with another "friend" of his as the president of the club, like the Iranian long time friend now president of Corinthians, still having immigration problems from entering the country on a tourist visa... It came from the Corriere dello Sport Stadio (Rome). This is what Mancini had to say about it, the coach: Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini isn't panicking over the prospect of a £70 million offer arriving from Chelsea for his star striker Adriano. He said: "It would be a very impressive offer but a correct one considering that he is an extraordinary player. "It is also true that we could use that money to buy a host of players but Adriano is too important for us to sell." An offer is a rumour as long as it is not official, but there must be something for Mancini to talk. This is how these deals start anyway. Besides, we are talking about somebody that has spent 650 mill Euros in Chelsea in 2 years, why get surprised. So far there have been disciplinary charges given to all parties involved, and point deductions for what happened is simply in the EPL's law book. Let's see what happens. For now, as there are charges and fines already applied, there is guilt, which shows and proves how Chelsea deals for a player, by the law. Whether in the end they get -3 or not is pointless. Luis Fabiano from Corinthians to Porto. Carlos Alberto from Porto to MSI. Derlei & Thiago (Porto) to Dinamo, Vagner Love from CSKA to Corinthians, Tevez bought by Corinthians with Porto going in first, PSV second....Jirosik moved to Chelsea from CSKA, stop it already. You want facts, hey, the moment that there are facts your man could get arrested. For now I'd stick to a Spanish saying: "Cuando el rio suena, piedras lleva". And this one is making a hell of a lot of noise. Stop kissing ass, we all know you already. Still I have to apologize as well, though I did earlier. The thread is about Mourihno, therefore Chelsea's name has to come up, and Abramovich's. Somebody asked about all of this....I was kind of wondering when it was you were going to show up. Look, arguing about all this is not worth it. With your usual dialectic you are merely going to stick to requiring facts, and not merely links pointing to rumours and investigations, even if there are 3000 links and even if UEFA, the EPL and even the brazilian police are investigating something related to all of this (and they all are). Therefore let's just leave it at this. I would only ask you one thing though: open your eyes and don't follow this route blindly, or at the least don't bet on it. Time may prove you wrong since there seems to be quite a bit of controversy surrounding all the players in this act, it is just not safe.
You know, this one I won't even answer. It's not worth it. You should stick to themes of conversation you are better at, but do not try to get into a discussion with me on economics, and certainly not on the history of my country, particularly not on a soccer forum. Just go away.
I have an economics degree and work with structured finance. Put up or shut the ******** up. You cannot "launder" money through a football team. Purchasing players is the opposite of laundering money. Its spending it.
How do you expect people to take you seriously when you post this? There have not been fines applied already. No guilt has been determined. Unfcukging believable.
Statement from the Premier League: "Ashley Cole has been charged with a breach of Rule K5, governing approaches by players to clubs." The statement continued: "Chelsea Football Club have been charged with a breach of Rule K3, governing approaches to players. Jose Mourinho has been charged with a breach of Rule Q, governing managers' conduct." The charges follow a lengthy Premier League inquiry into newspaper reports of an illegal meeting at the Royal Park Hotel at Lancaster Gate. No guilt has been determined? no charges? you are a stubborn one aren't you...
Do you understand the difference between charges and being found guilty? Obviously not, take the shrink wrap off your brain. Also the last two teams charged and found guilty were fined not deducted points.
Oh, you are a bookeeper. Cool. You are so ridiculous. Soccer and sports teams in general from all over the world have been used by their owners to launder their own money received from illegal practices, or simple being spent before the end of the fiscal year to evade taxes since the beginning of time. Of course, MSI is not registered as an "overseas" company in the Virgin Islands either, soccer teams in Europe have not ever been under investigation, taken to court and some of their owners even put in jail for exactly this very same practice. Of course, brasilian investigators are not textually investigating "money laundering" as textually reported by the press there. Do you want me to provide links?. Reporters and hundreds of articles over the net and the press link the words "Chelsea", "Abramovich" and "money laundering" in one paragraph because it doesn't exist. I shouldn't even be talking to somebody so ign.... that claims so full of himself that there is no money laundering in soccer. http://www.soccerphile.com/soccerphile/news/balkans-soccer/michael-laudrup.html http://www.lapress.org/article.asp?IssCode=&lanCode=1&artCode=3713 This, extracted from another article: "So is money, since soccer has become big money. Latin American soccer players are sold to European teams for huge sums. Sometimes they obtain false European passports, since the European league limits the number of non Europeans each team may have. There has been a major scandal in Brazil, where sums received from Europe for these players must be reported to the Bank of Brazil and exchanged for Brazilian currency. Team owners found several ways to get around this law. One was to transfer the players to Uruguay, which has no such law, and from there to Europe. This is one of many forms of money-laundering, which has become a global activity, against which the European Union is now trying to take action." Wait...could it be that for somebody in Europe to have a team in Brasil could be good for.....no, couldn't be. This is from "The Economist", Sao Paulo edition: "Since the early 1990s, the number of players leaving the country to play for clubs abroad each year has risen from 130 to 850, making Brazil the world's biggest exporter of footballers. Sadly, export success reflects domestic decay. Last year, an average match in the national championship attracted fewer than 8,000 supporters (compared with 35,000 in Britain's Premier League). One problem is corrupt club management: a Senate inquiry in 2001 found widespread tax evasion and money laundering. " The Senate of Brasil seems to disagree with you. I only found this in 2 minutes. Don't make me go on.