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Villas-Boas has Chelsea eating out of his hand
Portuguese becomes most expensive football coach ever, but doesn’t even break off his holiday as he joins Chelsea
André Villas-Boas has become the most expensive coach in football after he was confirmed as the new Chelsea boss today following his resignation from Porto, and the payment of €15m by the London club to trigger his release clause.
The 33-year-old had been courted by the Blues for several weeks and obviously has the London club eating out of his hand. His switch from Porto was negotiated while he was on holiday in the Seychelles and the 'mini-Mourinho' apparently has no plans to cut short his summer break, and will not be paraded in front of the press until next month.
In order to finalise the deal a delegation of Chelsea officials reportedly jetted out to join Villas-Boas in the tropics and thrash out the terms of his employment.
Chelsea announced his appointment in gushing terms, describing him as "the outstanding candidate for the job" and "one of the most talented young managers in football today".
But Chelsea's ambitious owner Roman Abramovich made it clear what he expects from the new man in the hotseat. "His ambition, drive and determination matches that of Chelsea and we are confident Andre's leadership of the team will result in greater successes in major domestic and European competitions," said the statement.
Chelsea confirmed their interest in the up-and-coming coach on Tuesday night. Their announcement came after the Portuguese had tendered his resignation at Porto and Chelsea stumped up the €15m release fee.
Villas-Boas will become the youngest manager in the Premier League, and the seventh man to fill the Stamford Bridge hotseat since Roman Abramovich brought the club in 2003.
He is well known to long-serving Chelsea players as he worked at Chelsea as an assistant scout under Jose Mourinho between 2004 and 2007 before establishing himself as one of the most promising coaches in Europe.
Although he held a relatively lowly position under Mourinho he has learned from The Special One, and Chelsea will pay him in excess of £4m a year. "He has always been highly regarded at Chelsea and everyone here looks forward to welcoming him back and working with him," said the club.
Speculation is now mounting about who he will buy in the transfer window and how much money he will be handed by Abramovich. He is expected to bring two members of his back-room staff, Jose Mario Rocha and Daniel Sousa, to London, but Porto president Jorge Pinto da Costa warned him that if he wants to bring in players like Radamel Falcao and Joao Moutinho from his old club he will have to pay top dollar. ·
