Charlton tell Abramovich to 'get lost'

Charlton chairman Martin Simons has told Chelsea's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich to keep his money and "get lost".

Chelsea have made two bids for Charlton midfielder Scott Parker, the latest worth £7.5m (€10.8m) with bonuses based on appearances.

But Simons refuses to negotiate and told The Sun: "Chelsea must be shown they can't just take our best players without us putting up a fight.

"We are fourth in the league, they are third. In the last few weeks we have been catching them up.

"So it hurts when a club with their buying power has the ability to see the club beneath them and say 'Oh, let's spend a few million and take their best player'.

"Well I say 'Get lost Abramovich' and I think I speak for the rest of football. Somebody has to make a stand.

"We don't want Chelsea's money. We are not the Charlton of old, where if someone offered us £1m for a player we would ask for £1.25m.

"We don't want the gap between the top three and the rest to get wider. If that happens, they may as well go off and play in a league of their own."

Fulham manager Chris Coleman tried to make a similar stand when Manchester United made a bid for striker Louis Saha.

But when denied the chance to move, Saha threatened to see out his Fulham contract and then leave the club for nothing, so Coleman settled for a £12m (€17.4m) fee.

Simons expects Parker to honour his contract and added: "We are not denying Scott the chance of a lifetime at all.

"He signed a contract in June for five years and still has four-and-a-half years left.

"All we are saying is, Scott, you have signed that contract. We don't want to let you go. You are a part of Charlton Athletic. We want you to play for us and honour your contract.

"He is being tempted by huge financial incentives and it's very, very difficult for the guy. I understand that.

"But I am saying appreciate what you have signed only six months ago, as we want to keep you.

"We want to send out a message that our best players are not for sale. Our feeling is we want to build for the future.

"Scott might say he can get Champions League football with Chelsea. Yet we may be only a season away from it ourselves and I think if he stays with us he could be there."

Simons admitted ever player has his price. He said: "Obviously, money often talks in football. If they were to offer us, say, £25m then that is an offer you can't refuse."