THE FORMER Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele has alleged in his autobiography that a row between the club’s captain, John Terry, and Jose Mourinho over the centre-half’s fitness early last season contributed significantly to the Portuguese manager being sacked at Stamford Bridge.
The former France international, writing in Claude Makelele – Tout Simplement, which was published this week and goes on the shelves in France today, claims Mourinho had grown concerned at Terry’s succession of back injuries and decided to rest his captain for a few games in the autumn of 2007. Makelele’s account of the dispute – rejected by Chelsea and Terry – indicates that player power was rife at Stamford Bridge and that Roman Abramovich, the owner, sided with the centre-back.
Reflecting on the end of Mourinho’s glittering three-year reign at Chelsea, which had yielded two league titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup, Makelele recalled: “I got the news from Didier Drogba. ‘He’ll be sacked tomorrow’, he told me. I was so surprised. I thought Mourinho was practically untouchable. The next morning at Cobham, our new training centre, it was chaos. There were photographers everywhere, journalists trying to get in touch with me, even helicopters over our heads.
“Most of the players were together in the changing rooms. I met Rui [Faria], our physical trainer and asked him if everything was OK. ‘No, no Claude. The rumours are true. The coach has been fired’. I asked him why and he explained a lot of players had complained about him, notably John Terry. I then learnt Mourinho had told the club’s captain that he was going to be left on the bench for a few matches to give him enough time to recover from a back operation he’d undergone in the middle of the previous season [in December 2006].
“John let it be known that he was okay to play on but Mourinho insisted. He told him his [Terry’s] level of performance was suffering because of his back problems and repeated clearly that he [Terry] would be replaced until told otherwise. He even pointed out that the central defence would, from now on, be Ricardo Carvalho and Alex. War had been declared.”
Terry has consistently stated that he played no intentional role in the departure of Mourinho and has denied that he was disloyal to him. Indeed, the pair have remained in regular contact since Mourinho moved to Internazionale last summer.
Yet relations between the club’s most successful manager and Abramovich had deteriorated from the middle of the 2006-07 season when they clashed over transfer policy and the hiring of Avram Grant, who would eventually leave his role as director of football to succeed Mourinho.
“For John this was treason,” adds Makelele, who left Chelsea for Paris St Germain last year. “He believed – rightly so, in my opinion – that by giving his all in the second half of the previous season, even though he was in great pain, he deserved more playing time in order to find his optimum playing level. Mourinho had provoked a ‘clash’ too far. Had it been me, [Michael] Ballack or [Andriy] Shevchenko it might have passed but, if there is one person who is untouchable at Chelsea, then it is John. And Mourinho knew.
“So why take such a risk? Because he’d had enough and was looking for a way out? As it was always, when John Terry let his unhappiness be known to [the chief executive Peter] Kenyon and asked him for a transfer, Abramovich reacted immediately. The departure of Terry was unimaginable from the point of view of the supporters, the players or the owners. Mourinho was asked to pack his bags.”
Chelsea disputed Makelele’s claim. “That is not a true version of events with regards to the transfer request as there wasn’t one,” the club said. “Nor was the captain responsible for the departure of Jose Mourinho, which was mutually agreed between Jose and the club.” Lawyers for Terry have also released a statement denying Makelele’s assertion.
Meanwhile, Florentino Perez has added to the air of uncertainty surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Old Trafford by refusing to rule out a move for the Manchester United forward and talking excitedly of the impact that the Portuguese might have at Real Madrid. Perez, who is expected to return to his former post as president at the Bernabeu on Monday, alluded to the “agreement” between Madrid and Ronaldo that was revealed in the Guardian last month and spoke of “a spectacular project” that is likely to see Kaka and Franck Ribery join the Spanish club this summer.
It had initially been thought that the arrival of Kaka and Ribery would end Madrid’s interest in Ronaldo but it is understood that Perez remains keen on signing the 24-year-old in what promises to be another summer-long saga that will no doubt exasperate everyone at Old Trafford.
“He’s also a player that would be very good if he came to Real Madrid,” said Perez. “What I know is what I’ve read, that there is an agreement by means of which he would come for €91.5 million.”
Asked if he would pay that amount, Perez said: “Next week we will look at the numbers and nobody should doubt that we are going to design with our sporting advisors a spectacular project.”
