it clearly wasn't the sole reason

but from their point of view, since the money is irrelevant (to them ?26m is nothing, not a drop in the ocean), they couldn't lose. If he turned out to do well for them, binus, if not they haven't lost anything that mattered and they have kept him away from their main rivals.
If they loan him out, say to Man City, this year they still win. He stregthens Man City's team when they play Man U/Arsenal/Liverpool etc but Man City have to field a weakened team when they play Chelsea (since SWP won't play).
It would be insane for other teams to think on those lines because ?26m is a LOT of money to them and would involve sacrificing other potential purchases - they would need it to work. For Chelsea that ?26m didn't stop them buying anyone else - they could still spend whatever they wanted - so THEY have nothing whatsoever to lose.

Posted By: mr carra, Jul 28, 10:47:52