According to the German newspaper Bild, Jose Mourinho has agreed in principle to take charge at Chelsea next season, and that one of his players will be current Atlético Madrid hitman Radamel Falcao.
The newspaper says that Real Madrid have agreed to let Mourinho out of his contract, which runs to 2016, and that the Special One has already signed a pre-contract with Chelsea.
Colombian striker Falcao, who was thought to be heading to Manchester United, has also agreed to move to London in a deal worth £46m. The 27-year-old Falcao would become Chelsea’s highest wage earner at around £200,000 a week.
The signing of Falcao, who is the third best player in the world behind Messi and Ronaldo, is a sign of massive intent by Roman Abramovich and Chelsea. Chelsea will finish the season over 20 points behind leaders Manchester United, but that gap will be slashed next season with the “Special One” back in charge at Stamford Bridge and Falcao up-front.
The signing of Falcao will bring into question the futures of Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Romelu Lukaku? If you spend that sort of money for Falcao, then there is no doubt that he will be Chelsea’s number one striker next season. Will Torres and Ba be happy to be number two or three options? And what about Lukaku? Would the Falcao signing mean that Lukaku will be sent on loan again next season?
It will also be interesting to see how Manchester United and City react to Chelsea’s moves. With Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules coming into effect, and United’s dominant commercial revenue stream, United can actually outspend both City and Chelsea this summer.
United have repeatedly been linked with a big money move for Cristiano Ronaldo, whose departure from Real Madrid might become a little easier now that Jose Mourinho is leaving.
And if United can land Ronaldo, and Chelsea land Falcao, where does that leave Manchester City if their two biggest title challengers have signed two of the three best players in the world? Who will Roberto Mancini need to bring in to close the gap on its rivals?
