Anelka to become World’s Most Expensive Footballer at £86.5m

Posted on 10. Jan, 2008 by Milox in Premiership

Nicolas Anelka will become the most expensive footballer in the world when he completes his move to Chelsea.

The French striker, 28, is expected to move to Stamford Bridge in the next 24 hours for a fee of around £15million.

That will take the total of fees paid for ‘Le Sulk’ in his career to a staggering £86.5m. Former Blues midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron holds the record at the moment with accumulated fees of £77.2m.

Chelsea have already agreed a three-year contract with Anelka worth £90,000-per-week. The final fee has yet to be finalised though Bolton have made it clear they value Anelka above the £12m which has already been bid.

Blues boss Avram Grant is determined to get the striker signed before Saturday’s Premier League home clash with Spurs.

Medical staff are on alert to put Anelka through the necessary tests at some point today.

If everything goes according to plan, Anelka could be unveiled as a Chelsea player tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Michael Ballack has called on every player at Stamford Bridge to raise their game — including himself.

The German midfielder, 31, has struggled to make an impact since his free transfer from Bayern Munich 18 months ago.

Chelsea have a long injury list which includes skipper John Terry and will lose stars like Didier Drogba to the African Nations Cup this month.

After Tuesday’s Carling Cup victory against Everton, Ballack said: “We all know what is expected of us in the next few weeks, including me.

“But it is not down to just one player. Every player has to push on a little bit.

“I want to give my best for the team and the most important thing is that we have stayed together and united and strong in such a difficult period, when we’ve had so many players out.

“Over Christmas we kept on winning and we’ve started the new year well too.

“I’ve always tried to take the responsibility on board and into my game but especially since I’ve been back from injury.

“I think we have a good squad and we will show that in the next few weeks.”

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