The summer is traditionally a slow time for football journalists, despite Euro 2008 starting at the weekend. However, they’re having a field day with the vacant Chelsea manager’s position, especially after Carlo Ancelotti snubbed the club on Monday after they approached the Italian to replace Avram Grant. The Times reports that, despite a staggering £7million a year to manage the Blues, the manager is sticking with Milan who probably don’t pay the minimum wage themselves.
However, despite Chelsea’s belief that their offer would be enough to end his seven-year reign at the San Siro, Ancelotti last night insisted that he would be staying at Milan after a 90-minute meeting at the ground with Adriano Galliani, the club’s vice- president. “I’m staying at Milan for sure,” Ancelotti said. “I’m 150 per cent certain I will stay.”
The bookmakers now have Roberto Mancini, Frank Rijkaard and Phil Scolari as joint favourites, with the latter potentially the next candidate that Abramovich and Co will approach. Much depends on whether they’re prepared to wait until after Euro 2008, which seems bizarre, considering that it’s several weeks away and players’ futures are up in the air right now.