As if there’s not enough contentious rumours cooked up by the British Press, the influence of foreign papers have slowly crept into the Premier League mainstream, so that when the likes of Bild or Marca pipe up English fans listen. This may not be because they’re a particularly reliable source but because of the power and reach many of these papers have in their respective domains.
That’s not to say that these papers aren’t prone to the odd ridiculous rumour of their own. Take this recent story in Portuguese paper A Bola: Jose Mourinho and his team at Real Madrid are considering petitioning Chelsea to complete a swap deal between the Galactico’s defender Pepe and the Blue’s Brazilian centre-back David Luiz.
Portuguese International Pepe has slowly engineered a reputation for himself at Real’s most controversial player. The most recent incident involving the 28-year-old had him intentionally stamping on Lionel Messi’s hand during the first leg of a recent El Clasico in the Copa del Rey.
This incident and another way back in April 2009 has had fans question his temperament. Pepe gave away a penalty in the dying minutes of a game against Getafe whilst the two teams were tied level at 2-2. Furious with the decision and the player who won the penalty, he reacted violently. Whilst Javier Casquero was on the floor he kicked out twice connecting with his shin and his lower back.
He was dragged away, but proceeded to force Casquero’s head into the turf and stamp on him. A melee ensued and Pepe proceeded to hit Juan Angel Albin the face. This moment is without doubt the nadir of his career and he rightly ended up with a massive ten game ban, but these incidents are perhaps endemic of a troubled, violent soul. Certainly there will be worries regarding his temperament should he complete any sort of move with Chelsea.
Whilst a move to La Liga may well suit David Luiz who has struggled to adapt to the pace of the Premier League, Pepe may not be so willing to make a move. He’s settled in Spain and is a major part of a team that looks set to win the Spanish League. What reason would he have to move to a club that’s struggling for fourth in the Premier League.
I doubt there’s a lot of truth to these rumours. It’s probably been cooked up on the basis of the Portuguese link between Andre Villas-Boas and Pepe, but I hope that nothing real comes of it. At the kind of money he would cost (or even at the price of David Luiz) he’d represent a massive risk.
But what’s your take? Could this be an astute signing for Chelsea?
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