Blues would have let Juve buy Lamps, says Ranieri
Ranieri’s fellow former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was eager to take Lampard to the San Siro after being appointed manager of Inter Milan.
However Inter were unable to prise the England midfielder away from Stamford Bridge.
Ranieri believes Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich would have been more willing to let one of his star players move to Juventus – despite the London club’s assertion they do not sell their best players to anyone.
“If I’d have asked, he would have given him to me,” Ranieri said last night. “But not to Mourinho. I’ll let you figure out why. However, I never thought about buying him.”
Ranieri believes the England international, who he signed from West Ham during his time at Stamford Bridge, would do well in Italy.
“I’m very attached to Lampard,” he added. “He would be great in Italy because he is always interested in different types of football.
“He loves knowing about football and that’s why he wouldn’t have much of a problem adapting.”
Lampard now seems certain to remaining at Stamford Bridge, at least for the remaining year of his contract.
Ranieri claims new Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari will find a very different environment at Stamford Bridge to when he was in charge.
Ranieri’s four seasons at the helm saw the Blues slowly claw their way up the Premier League table before Roman Abramovich bought the club and kick-started their transformation into one of the best teams in Europe.
However, Ranieri was the man who paid the price for the Russian billionaire’s high demands as he was sacked a year after Abramovich bought the club.
Scolari is Chelsea’s fourth manager under Abramovich, and Ranieri wonders whether the Russian’s patience could be wearing thin as he seeks domestic and Champions League glory.
“When I was there it was Abramovich’s first year,” Scolari said. “Everything was well and I got on very well with him. He had a huge enthusiasm for Chelsea and a great desire to take Chelsea right to the top.
“But now it’s four years on and I don’t know how much enthusiasm he still has for football and how much money he still wants to spend.
“I know he wants to take Chelsea to the top but it depends if he’s still willing to spend more money.”
Meanwhile Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon yesterday admitted talks with Real Madrid about Robinho have stalled but remains hopeful of signing the Brazil attacker.
The Blues have been linked with the former Santos star at various points over the summer and Kenyon believes Madrid’s eagerness to secure a replacement is the only factor behind the delay. “One of the key issues over buying Robinho has always been that Real Madrid are looking for a replacement,” he said. “It is fair to say that is what has been holding up discussions between the two clubs.
“It has not progressed over the last couple of days but the window is open until the end of August and there’s still plenty of time to run.”
Kenyon also insisted Didier Drogba, who is currently recovering from a knee injury and has been linked with Madrid, will not be sold and played down talk of a move for Werder Bremen playmaker Diego.
“I think there is absolutely no question that any deal will be done with regard to Didier Drogba,” Kenyon added. “Didier is in rehab and will continue to be a Chelsea player. We can squash that one.’’
Meanwhile Andrei Shevchenko’s penalty shoot-out miss meant Luiz Felipe Scolari’s unbeaten reign as Chelsea manager came to an abrupt end against Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia last night.
The striker had to score from the spot after Wayne Bridge fired his penalty at Lokomotiv goalkeeper Ivan Pelizzoli, but the Ukraine striker also saw his attempt saved to give the Russians a 5-4 shoot-out victory in their Railways Cup clash.
Michael Essien scored his first pre-season goal to give Chelsea the lead after 27 minutes but Ruslan Kambalov’s second-half strike meant the match went to penalties.
Chelsea will play Shevchenko’s former club Milan tomorrow.
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