Leboeuf happy to stay at Chelsea
Thursday, 1 February 2001 10:49Chelsea's Frank Leboeuf has said he is happy to be staying at the Stamford Bridge club after a possible move to French club Monaco fell through. Monaco had agreed a £2.5m transfer fee with the London side for Leboeuf two weeks ago but failed to follow up their agreement before last night's French transfer window shut. Now Leboeuf has said he is delighted the deal did not go through after all, accusing Monaco president Jean-Louis Campora of showing disrespect to him and to Chelsea.
"Having seen the politics, I'm glad to be staying at Stamford Bridge. I have nothing to be embarrassed about, but as a Frenchman, I feel ashamed of Monaco's behaviour, particularly the president. He has been so unprofessional," said Leboeuf in The Times today.
It is believed the deal fell through because Monaco could not come up with the cash to pay for Leboeuf after another transfer deal involving one of their own players collapsed. Now Leboeuf must continue playing with Chelsea, with whom he is contracted until the end of next season. Although Leboeuf had revealed how much he desired a move away from London, the fans gave him a warm reception last night before the match against Newcastle and the Frenchman is still very much committed to the Chelsea cause while he remains at Stamford Bridge.
"The manager has been great to me through all this. He asked me if I was ready to play for the club and I said I would continue to try my hardest. It looked at one stage as if it might be best to move on but now I will continue to do my best here. I've always been very happy in London, and Chelsea is where I've enjoyed lots of success. So there is no problem at all with me staying. I might yet finish my career here," he added.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
