Roman to break the bank for Pep?

Roman Abramovich will make Pep Guardiola a ‘take it or leave it’ of £18 million-a-year to take over the helm at Stamford Bridge in the summer, according to a story in the Daily Express.

Should Guardiola agree such a deal it would make him the highest paid manager in world football and it’s more than double the salary of the highest paid manager in English football Alex Ferguson (£7.6 million-a-year) but faces competition with Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Manchester United all reportedly interested in acquiring the services of the former Barcelona coach.

However, I don’t see Ferguson retiring at Old Trafford any time soon and although Bayern are a huge club, I believe the pull of the Premier League is a greater attraction and City are the main competition for his signature, especially as former Barcelona suits Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano are now at the Eithad.

But money talks and regardless of that, despite what Chelsea’s critics say, the club will always remain an attraction for potential managers as long as they remain as ambitious as they are and have players of a high standard.

After missing out on Guardiola in the summer the club appointed Roberto Di Matteo but it seems as though the board are keen to continue the work they began when Andre Villas-Boas arrived at the club. Both Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole were rumoured to be part of a mutiny which forced Abramovich into axing Villas-Boas and they will seek new clubs whilst Rafael Benitez, who is unpopular anyway, is the manager. There’s also rumours that John Terry’s deal won’t be renewed when it expires at the end of next season and the theory is that the board want to do everything they can to offer the next manager a clean slate he can build upon whilst avoiding a repeat of what happened among the playing staff during AVB’s last days.

And on the positives, Chelsea have invested in the likes of Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar in the previous two summers whilst I’m sure we’ll continue to bolster the squad. It’s a new Chelsea in a sense and all it lacks is a manager to take it to the next level. But it is not a given that Pep will be the next boss, we could see a return of Jose Mourinho, whilst Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp represents another option as he reportedly has his admirers at Stamford Bridge too.

Who do you think will succeed Rafael Benitez and why? – Have your say in the comments section below

Source: Daily Express