Rivaldo Prefers Chelsea To Newcastle

By Matthew Jones
September 29 2003

After being released from his contract at AC Milan on Friday, Brazilian Rivaldo has admitted he'd welcome talks with Chelsea.

Rivaldo told the Sunday Herald: "At Chelsea it would be very easy for me to fit in quickly because there are already so many stars, some of whom I know directly.

"Perhaps that would make it the easiest choice for me because if I have good partners who know how I play then I could, literally, guarantee success.

"So Chelsea is interesting to me but I cannot say more specifically at the moment - I have to take in other factors.

"However, I think that England is the logical destination for me because I've had so many offers from there that it would be the easiest place to go and succeed.

"I'm going to have a close look now at four or five of the 12 strong proposals from France, England, Spain and Brazil which I have received since the summer and then I will choose which one suits me best.

"I want to sort it out, and play, as soon as possible, but then again I do not want to make a decision without allowing proper time to think it over.

"If you would have asked me a few years ago about moving to England I probably would have answered 'I don't fancy it'.

"But now I am older and the teams there can know what to expect from me - plus I think that at my stage in my career I believe I could fit in.

"I know that Middlesbrough have made contact, and that my team-mate Juninho is there - but I'd need to understand far more about the club and its situation before moving because of that.

"And at Newcastle of course I know there is also interest, but I know that Sir Bobby Robson could be having trouble so I'll wait on that."

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