Luiz Felipe Scolari has commenced his whittling down of Chelsea's squad by allowing Claude Makelele and Khalid Boulahrouz to leave Stamford Bridge. Makelele will end his five-year association with the Blues by completing a move to Paris St Germain today, while Boulahrouz is poised to join Stuttgart after the two clubs agreed terms for a transfer.
Makelele, who was a £16.8m signing from Real Madrid in 2003, won two league titles during his spell at Stamford Bridge and helped the club reach last season's Champions League final. A statement on PSG's website said: "Charles Villeneuve, president of Paris St Germain, Paul Le Guen, coach of the first team, and Alain Roche, head scout, will have a press conference today. On this occasion they will present to the journalists the French international midfielder Claude Makelele, who will join Paris St Germain's first team for the 2008/09 season."
Makelele leaves Chelsea shortly after the arrival from Barcelona of Deco, who will compete with Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Michael Ballack and Mikel John Obi for a central midfield starting slot. "Everyone at Chelsea would like to take this opportunity to thank Claude for the five years of service he has given to the club," read a Chelsea statement. "He has been a key part of our trophy success during that time and we wish him well for the future."
The versatile defender Boulahrouz looks likely to follow Makelele out of the door with a return to Germany for around £4m. Despite an unsuccessful time in west London, and an injury-disrupted spell on loan at Sevilla last season, Boulahrouz enjoyed two productive years at Hamburg prior to his £10m transfer to Chelsea. "He is just the man we were lacking. He is one who is not scared of getting involved when needed," said Stuttgart coach Armin Veh.
Meanwhile, the Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon has rejected claims from Milan that the Blues have tabled a "conspicuous offer" for Kaka and insisted a move for the Brazilian is unlikely.
The Italian press reported over the weekend that the Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani had confirmed the Rossoneri had rejected a bid for the midfielder from Chelsea, while Kaka's representative fuelled speculation by claiming the 26-year-old would be interested in a move to Stamford Bridge. "It's true that Chelsea made a conspicuous offer, but I will not say how much it was," Galliani is reported to have said. "It is equally true that we said no. Club president Silvio Berlusconi rejected the chance to sell Kaka, just as he told Real Madrid no in 2001 for Andriy Shevchenko."
But shortly after arriving in China ahead of Chelsea's meeting with the Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Pharmaceutical on Wednesday, Kenyon denied any knowledge of the offer. "There was no offer made," he said. "I have read the same articles, they have made it clear that he is not for sale and we will make it clear we have not made an offer. There is no reason to negotiate over something they don't want to do and we have not made an offer."
But while a deal for one Brazilian appears unlikely, Kenyon was more confident over Chelsea's negotiations with Real Madrid for Robinho. The 24-year-old was a key figure in Real's championship-winning side last season, but has made it clear he wants to join his former coach Luiz Felipe Scolari in west London. "It is well noted we have shown interest," Kenyon said. "We have had discussions with Madrid over it and they are ongoing. The window is still open and we are still talking to Madrid."
Chelsea have also confirmed that Petr Cech has signed a new five-year contract at the club. The deal, which keeps the 26-year-old goalkeeper at Stamford Bridge until 2013, was completed late last week but announced as the team touched down in China today.
