What’s the story?
Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos has come out and said that he almost made a move to Chelsea back in 2007. Playing for Real Madrid at the time, the full-back revealed that he had an offer to move to the Premier League but the move fell through when both parties failed to come to an agreement.
Carlos would eventually move to Turkish Super Lig side Fenerbahce where he played two seasons before moving back to Brazil with Corinthians. Carlos would also play a season with Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala before finishing his career as a player-coach with Indian Super League side Delhi Dynamos
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Now 43 years old, Carlos spoke about a meeting he had with club owner Roman Abramovich. He also admitted that he was a huge fan of the Premier League and watches it every weekend.
“I spoke to Roman Abramovich about it,” Carlos told Sky Sports. “We had a meeting in Paris but it didn't happen due to a few small factors.
“I watch the Premier League every weekend,” he said. “I think it's fantastic. One thing you notice is that the teams considered small are capable of surprising the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and City.”
“I love English football because it's real football,” he continued. “I love everything that surrounds it. The public, the atmosphere, the preparation. I always speak to Willian from Chelsea before his games; he loves it here.”
In case you didn’t know...
Carlos was a mainstay of the Real Madrid backline for several years. In his 11 seasons in La Liga, Carlos won the league four times and also lifted the coveted Champions League title three times. One of the pioneers of the attacking full-back role, Carlos was also a set-piece specialist who could score from free-kicks with his left foot.
Although he was instrumental in their Champions League title wins, Carlos was heavily criticised for his error that led to Real Madrid’s elimination at the hands of Bayern Munich in 2007. It was his failure to control a backpass in the first minute that led to Bayern scoring the fastest goal ever scored in Champions League history (10.12 seconds).
Growing tired of the criticism, Carlos, who was in the final year of his contract at Madrid, soon announced that he would leave at the end of the season.
The heart of the matter
One of the main reasons Carlos made the move to Turkey when he had other offers was due to the fact that Zico was the manager at Fenerbahce. Working with his compatriot was something Carlos looked forward to and Turkish football was on the rise at the time.
At the same time, Jose Mourinho was in charge at Chelsea but he did not see eye-to-eye with Abramovich, leading to the former’s exit just two months into the new season. Carlos eventually left Fenerbahce after two-and-a-half seasons having won two Turkish Super Cups.
Sportskeeda’s take
Carlos was 34 years old when he left Real Madrid and there was no guarantee that he would have succeeded in the hustle-bustle of the Premier League. At the same time, Chelsea had Ashley Cole, who was only 26 at the time, playing in his prime. It would have been very hard for Carlos to get enough game time at Stamford Bridge.
The fact that Cole was also a homegrown player would have made it increasingly difficult for a club to sign a foreign player like Carlos to warm the bench on predictably high wages. The Blues may just have dodged a bullet by not signing Carlos.
