Benfica have taken steps to counter-act the media comments associated with the box-to-box midfielder regarding his desire to play for Chelsea, by stating the following:
" Sport Lisboa e Benfica denies the player Ramires has issued any statements to the English media, so any word or quotes from the player are inappropriate and not true." (Trans.)
What to make of all this then?! We know Chelsea do not want to announce the departure of Deco until a midfield signing has been secured, yesterday it looked as if that could be as soon as today - earlier this evening it looked a dead cert it would be Ramires, and now his club say this.
The negotiating table must look like a battle ground at this point as over the last 24 hours we've seen the situation move from done deal - to off - to dead cert - to off again; Benfica clearly either want to keep the player or maximise the income, Chelsea clearly want to secure the signing sooner rather than later.
We suspect the quotes could well originate from Ramires but will be now be denied, don't be surprised if this one trundles on for some time yet.
Keep hitting BlueTinted for more updates as they happen.
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