Chelsea: "We'd Spend £60million on Ruud"
£60millions worth?
By Chris O'Brien
December 17 2003
Chelsea's acting chief executive Paul Smith has revealed the London club would be willing to spend a massive £60,000,000 on Ruud Van Nistelrooy. The London-outfit have already spent double that figure on transfers this season, as their new Russian owner looks to buy success.
| Chelsea: "We'd Spend £60million on Ruud" |
| Chelsea have revealed they would be
willing to pay £60million for Manchester United star Ruud Van Nistelrooy, if
the Dutch striker was made available by Sir Alex Ferguson. An offer that
would smash the world record transfer fee! The astonishing statement came from Chelsea acting chief executive Paul Smith, who will be replaced by Peter Kenyon when United confirm he can join the Stamford Bridge club. The big-spending London club spent over £120million during the pre-season as Russian owner Roman Abramovich looks to buy success for the club nicknamed 'Chelski'. The billionaire oil tycoon looks set to spend big once again in the New Year transfer window, and the club have revealed they would be very interested in signing Van Nistelrooy. Van Nistelrooy is currently in negotiations with United over a new contract, as the Red Devils try and crush speculation that the Dutch international is on his way to Real Madrid. However, if Ruud doesn't agree terms with an extension to his United deal, a bid from Chelsea could also be on the cards. Chelsea are believed to have had a bid of almost £50million rejected for Thierry Henry for Arsenal earlier in the week, meaning the title contenders, who slipped to a defeat at the hands of Bolton Wanderers last Saturday, will need to look elsewhere for new signings come January. "If Ruud van Nistelrooy was priced at £60million and we considered it a good investment, then we would pay that." said Smith. "We will not be ripped off, we are looking for value on players we sign, but would be willing to spend big if the right player became available." Not a lot should be read in to this interview that Smith gave to the Evening Standard on Wednesday. Van Nistelrooy was probably used merely as an example, but it is still quite worrying that Chelsea would be willing to tempt United with such a massive offer for the record-breaking scorer. |