CHELSEA ARE facing up to the likelihood that their protracted attempts to prise Robinho from Real Madrid ahead of Monday's transfer deadline will end in failure unless they increase their bid for the Brazilian by around €5 million to what would constitute a British-record €41 million.
Relations between the clubs have become strained since Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon was photographed leaving De Maria restaurant in Madrid with the player's agent, Wagner Ribeiro, earlier this week.
Real were just as dismayed to learn of the administrative oversight which briefly saw Robinho replica shirts, with number "to be confirmed", being promoted on the Premier League club's website on Thursday despite negotiations not having been completed.
The plaeyr himself insists he still hopes to join Chelsea, revealing negotiations are ongoing. "I have a contract with Real Madrid now, but we are still negotiating with Chelsea," he said.
Kenyon remains in the Spanish capital in the hope that further talks will prove more fruitful.
A higher bid could alter the situation, allowing Real to save face, although club president Ramon Calderon yesterday blame Ribeiro publicly for unsettling the forward.
"He is getting bad advice," said Calderon. "It is as if he read the script he was given, and that was a mistake. He can change his attitude. He's recoverable."
Real open their league campaign at Deportivo La Coruna tomorrow and the club will announce today whether Robinho is to travel with the squad.
The Brazilian is due to return to South America next week to take part in his country's World Cup qualifiers in Chile and against Bolivia in Rio de Janeiro. That could yet hamper any attempts to undertake a medical at Chelsea. For his part, Luiz Felipe Scolari sang the player's praises again yesterday, but indicated he boasts a squad capable of challenging for the title with or without him.
Scolari was keen to stress that the sale of Shaun Wright-Phillips to Manchester City had not been sanctioned on the understanding that Robinho would be arriving to add to his attacking options - "We had a good offer for him, and it was important for the club and important for him" - but he will await news from Kenyon with interest.
The Brazilian has spoken with his squad this week in a bid to flush out all thoughts of the damage caused by the 4-4 draw at White Hart Lane in March which contributed significantly to their failure to win the title.
"They were still sad and angry because one defensive mistake cost them," added Scolari, whose midfield ranks are severely depleted, with Michael Ballack, Michael Essien and Mikel John Obi all struggling to be fit.
Arsene Wenger has revealed that Emmanuel Adebayor spurned the offer of a far more lucrative contract at a rival European club to remain at Arsenal, and he insisted the striker, who has been targeted by sections of the club's support this season, was guilty of little more than "PR mistakes" over a tumultuous summer.
Adebayor inflamed the passions of some Arsenal fans by seeming to encourage the advances of Barcelona and Milan. He told the Barcelona-based newspaper El Mundo Deportivo he would be "delighted" to play for the Catalan club one day - "There is no player who can say no to Barcelona," he said - while adding it was "flattering" to be linked with them and Milan.
If the comments were designed to drive up his wage at Arsenal, they worked because he agreed a new and greatly improved deal earlier this month. But Wenger, who signed the Togo international from Monaco for €4.5 million in January 2006, urged the home crowd, who have jeered Adebayor in both matches so far at Emirates Stadium, to see the bigger picture.
"Emmanuel's transfer saga and the fact he was wanted by all the clubs in Europe was not down to him, it was down to his performances," said Wenger, who admitted Adebayor was "hurting" at the abuse he has suffered.
"In the end, he has chosen to stay. Why should that on top [ of everything] turn against him? That is very hard for him to take.
"We have to be realistic. That he is wanted [ by leading clubs] is an honour for Arsenal; that he has decided to stay is as well an honour and the fact he made financial sacrifices is as well an honour for the club. On top of that, we turn against him?
Wenger, who is expected to restore Adebayor to the starting line-up against Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium today, after using him as a substitute against FC Twente in the Champions League qualifier on Wednesday, suggested public relations was not among the player's strong points but naivety in this area was more a virtue than a vice.
"I like it when a player is not PR [ savvy] because when they become PR, they always have the right behaviour outside and the wrong inside," said Wenger. "I prefer the reverse situation, a guy who makes a few mistakes. When you know about PR, you are always in the s*** as a manager. They always have a series of things that people want to hear and they never behave as they talk.
"I can give you plenty of examples but in Adebayor's case, he maybe made PR mistakes but on what is really important, the way he trained, the way he worked, the way he behaved on a daily basis . . . he was a credit. We have to be intelligent enough inside, and the fans as well, to support him. He needs the fans to be behind him. He is always under pressure to score goals but we want him to feel relaxed and play football like he loves to."
Guardian Service
