LONG-TERM deals in football are normal these days but in a time where they weren’t so common, one deal MASSIVELY backfired on Chelsea.
In recent times, deals as long as four years are common depending on a player’s age and potential.
At Chelsea, David Fofana penned a deal until 2029, Benoit Badiashile is contracted for seven-and-a-half year contract and Mykhailo Mudryk has signed for eight-and-a-half years.
But in the early 2000s, a four-year deal that was handed to Winston Bogarde backfired MASSIVELY.
A deal of that length was considered long-term at that time.
Bogarde joined from Barcelona and with him came a wealth of experience that included two LaLiga titles and a Champions League, as well as spells at AC Milan and Ajax.
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The tall full-back was also a Dutch international.
However, for the cost of £40,000-a-week for four years, the Blues only saw Bogarde feature 12 times.
Bogarde raked in just shy of £8million, which works out at £640,000 every game he played.
It was said that Claudio Ranieri wanted Bogarde to leave just weeks after he took the Chelsea job.
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Instead, Bogarde honoured his contract up until its expiration.
When touching on the Mudryk transfer, Darren Bent brought up Bogarde on talkSPORT.
It was previously claimed that the player would commute daily from Holland to London via PLANE.
Bent said: “I think Chelsea have had this before.
“Chelsea fans might correct me. Winston Bogarde. I’m pretty sure, I spoke to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, he used to live in Holland!
“(He would) get the plane over in the morning, get to training, train, get back on the plane after training, everyday Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink told me this.
“There might be an odd occasion where he would stay over. That’s dedication that.”
Bogarde retired just a year after his time at Chelsea came to an end, and he denied claims he jetted to England daily in 2015.
He told The Guardian: “Of course not.
“I don’t understand how people come to these ridiculous stories, or lies or whatever.”
And on his exit from Chelsea, Bogarde said: “They had to cut costs.
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“My situation was not very good and we tried to solve it many ways.
“Like to maybe go on loan or sell me, or whatever. But in the end it didn’t work out.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
