Jul 24

Ricardo Carvalho hoping to rejoin José Mourinho in Madrid this summer

• Defender claims he has a deal to leave Stamford Bridge
• ‘It would be a dream to play for Madrid,’ he says

Ricardo Carvalho has revealed he has an agreement with Chelsea which will mean he could leave Stamford Bridge this summer and he has made it clear he would like to join his former José Mourinho at Real Madrid.

Carvalho followed Mourinho to Chelsea in 2004, after winning the Champions League with him at Porto, and he was repeatedly linked with a move to Inter during Mourinho’s two years in charge at San Siro and is now desperate to be reunited with him in Spain.

“If there was a possibility to sign for Madrid, I would go there right now swimming or running,” Carvalho told the Spanish sports newspaper AS. “Chelsea have a commitment with me to let me go this summer, for reasons which those responsible at the club and I know.

“It would be a dream to be able to play for Madrid, which for me is the best club in the world, and to do so under the orders of the best coach in the history of football.

“With Mourinho I experienced two marvellous periods at Porto and Chelsea. To have the opportunity to win another Champions League with him at Real Madrid would be something tremendous.”

After helping Chelsea to three Premier League titles and three FA Cups, Carvalho believes his time at Stamford Bridge has come to an end. The 32-year-old has not played for the club since March after picking up an ankle injury – from which he recovered in time for the World Cup – but insists that despite his advancing years he is in the prime of his career.

“I find myself in the best moment of my career, because physically I am at the top and moreover I have a great experience,” he said. “I spent six spectacular years at Chelsea and I had the opportunity to experience a glorious period of this club, but I repeat that to sign for Madrid would be a dream.

“I’m very grateful to Roman Abramovich for signing me and making me part of the Chelsea project for six years. He was a very important person for English football and Chelsea, who became one of the best teams in the world.”

Reports suggest Chelsea would agree to release Carvalho for a cut-price €6m (£5m).

ChelseaReal MadridPremier LeagueLa LigaTransfer windowEuropean footballguardian.co.uk

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May 14

Frank Lampard says Chelsea must ruin Portsmouth’s FA Cup fairytale

• Chelsea can become seventh side to win domestic double
• Lampard says team cannot afford to be complacent

Frank Lampard says Chelsea are intent on ruining relegated Portsmouth’s hopes of a fairytale end to their dismal season. Victory over Avram Grant’s Pompey side in the FA Cup final at Wembley tomorrow would see Chelsea become only the seventh English side ever to achieve the coveted domestic double, and Lampard is adamant they will not be complacent after winning the Premier League title last Sunday.

“We don’t want it to be a fairytale that goes all the way for Portsmouth, we have to be ruthless how we approach the game,” said Lampard. “To win the league was a huge thing for us last week. We got that job done but we knew the season wasn’t over.

“We saw Portsmouth against Tottenham in the semi-final and we’ve seen them have a very spirited end to the season, even with the difficult circumstances.”

Lampard went on to suggest that a Chelsea defeat would also be bad news for England, with several Chelsea players set to play significant roles for the national side at this summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

“What better way to go to the World Cup than having done the double,” said Lampard. “But I would hate to go there having missed out on the double. Mentally if I went away and we’d lost that would be the freshest thing in the mind and it would be horrible.

“We are determined to finish the job and it won’t be as easy as some people have made out. I also have a lot of sympathy with Portsmouth. I think they’ve handled themselves very well, particularly Avram Grant, who we know really well and have a lot of respect for.

“He’s handled himself brilliantly and everyone has seen that. It’s not been easy circumstances and everyone has taken to them a bit this year – in very adverse circumstances they have held their heads high and managed to get to Wembley.

“But the double is huge and has never been done in our history. We really want to do it. I grew up always knowing the big teams that had done the double in the 70s and 80s, so if we do it, it will go down as the best year in the club’s history.”

Lampard’s Chelsea and England team-mate Ashley Cole is bidding to become the first player to win the trophy six times. Cole’s first FA Cup final victory came with Arsenal against Chelsea in 2002 before retaining the trophy against Southampton the following year and then scoring in the 2005 penalty shootout win over Manchester United.

He then moved to Chelsea and was part of the team who defeated Manchester United in the first final at the new Wembley. Last season he won his fifth final and moved into the record books as Chelsea defeated Everton 2-1.

“It is an amazing achievement and to win it that many times would set him out as the most successful FA Cup player ever and he deserves that,” added Lampard.

ChelseaFrank LampardPortsmouthFA Cupguardian.co.uk

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May 10

Riot of goals makes compelling case for the defence | Richard Williams

The Premier League season was made all the more entertaining by the defensive weaknesses of the top teams

Eight-nil to Chelsea, four-nil to Manchester United: the squabbling monarchs of English football decided their argument and closed the league season with a veritable riot of goals and entertainment. The millions of viewers from Anchorage to Auckland who provide the Premier League with a king’s ransom from broadcasting rights must have been ecstatic.

When asked on Sunday night if he had just won the best league in the world, Carlo Ancelotti provided a careful response that satisfied the questioner without saying anything potentially dangerous if placed before a more rigorous court of inquiry. “I

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