10 Players You Didn't Know Chelsea Almost Signed
3. Andrea Pirlo
"It was August 2009 and I'd reached agreement with Chelsea, the club where Ancelotti had just come in as manager. Carlo was like a father and a teacher for me, a kind, friendly man who knew how to make things fun. I'd spent the best years of my career with him. If you're a player who wants to get on and give everything, you won't find anyone better than him. Carlo Ancelotti was my motivation for agreeing to head to London. But, in the meantime, Berlusconi had pulled out a second piece of paper."Milan were hoping that the recent signing of Klaas Jan Huntelaar would be enough to persuade Pirlo to stay at the club, but when that failed, they used emotional blackmail by telling him Kaka had been sold, and they couldn't afford to lose him as well. The midfielder continued:
"This time there were loads of names with ticks next to them, and one that had been circled. 'Stay. We've signed Huntelaar'. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is an excellent player. He knows how to score goals, loads of goals and, at that point in time, he was playing for Real Madrid. But he's not the type of guy who's going to win the Ballon d'Or. 'Listen, Andrea, you just can't do this, damn it. You're the symbol of Milan, a standard bearer for this team, and we've already sold Kaka. You can't jump ship as well. It'd be a terrible blow, to our image as much as anything. We can't have everyone leaving.'"
Pirlo said he had a series of telephone called with Ancelotti over a move to Chelsea, but that Milan were asking for too much money, and even tried to get Branislav Ivanovic thrown into the deal. The Blues had no intention of letting the defender go, and in the end the move collapsed.