Poor Alexandre Pato. The Brazilian striker just can’t catch a break. The 26-year-old who should be in the prime of his career is still trying to make an appearance for Chelsea from the bench, let alone find a spot in the playing XI named by Guus Hiddink.
After making a loan move to the London club in the January transfer window, he has not exactly terrorised defences like he did in his hey-days at AC Milan between 2008 and 2011. Pato scored 10 goals and grabbed 5 assists in the Brasileiro Serie A but did not even got a chance to play in the FA Cup – a tournament where the Blues felt they had a realistic chance of winning a trophy before they were eliminated by Everton.
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It is safe to say that, so far, his move has been a failure. He’s not the only flop they signed in attack. Colombian striker Radamel Falcao was also signed on loan despite his poor campaign with Manchester United last season.
And somebody has gone to the lengths of creating a website to show fans just how long it has been since Pato signed and warmed the bench. A site called Has Alexandre Pato played for Chelsea has been online for a while and it has a timer showing exactly how long he has been at the club and yet to play – right down to the second!
“It's not a gamble,” Hiddink had said when he signed. “Coming on loan makes it possible to view if he can adapt to the league.”
Pato clearly has not.
