Chelsea could be about to watch the third and final of their global superstar targets get away from them this summer. After Todd Boehly spent precious time last year chasing the dream of Cristiano Ronaldo to the annoyance of Thomas Tuchel, he may not get the chance to go that far here.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, the Blues have mountains of work to be getting on with including ridding themselves of what could be 15 first-team stars. The task is then to bed in returning loan stars and make shrewd new additions in key areas, namely goalkeeper, defensive midfield and striker.
The big names up in lights and ageing attackers lured in by the financial power of Saudi Arabia don't massively fit into this upwardly mobile, young squad being put together at Stamford Bridge. To return to such ways of chasing the names not the player profile would be a backwards step for Boehly just as some semblance of a plan started to take shape.
The opportunity to secure on of his big-dream players looks to be dwindling anyway. Ronaldo has gone, joining Al-Nassr earlier this year after torching any relationship he had left with Manchester United in a firey interview with Piers Morgan. Lionel Messi has turned down joining him in the Middle East but is just as off the cards.
The Argentine has chosen to make America his home after months of contemplation in Paris. There was never much hope of a third season at Paris Saint-Germain but now that a return to Barcelona is off the cards he has picked the oasis of Miami over fighting with Ronaldo to be the biggest dog in the Saudi Pro League.
N'Golo Kante appears to have his heart set on disrupting Ronaldo as well as competing with Karim Benzema, the Frenchman has been offered mammoth sums to cut his Premier League journey short at the end of his Chelsea contract next month. Chelsea are scrambling around for names big enough to fulfil their desires.
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Neymar is the last option, the oldest part of the Harlem Globetrotters frontline that PSG tried to make work. He was the first buy of the big three and might be the next to leave. Reports suggest that not only are Chelsea now turning their attention towards the injury-prone 31-year-old, but also that he is available.
CBS report that the French champions would be happy to see him leave. With just over two-years left on his deal and an option for a further 12 months on top of that they will be hankering for a hefty package in return. For £188.3 million ($237m) he is still the most expensive player ever to play the game. Six years on from the move that got him there, five league titles doesn't justify the move as a whole.
Chelsea, no longer in need of the star names and big attractions that they have been linked with, would seemingly struggle to match the demands of Neymar financially as well as lacking European football. Al-Hilal, however, have no such issues are are said to be eyeing up the Brazilian with interest.
It is said that Saudi representatives made contact with PSG to sound out early potential for a deal with a £177.2m ($223m) per year contract on the table, one comparable to Ronaldo. Chelsea, on the other hand, are looking to dial back their wage structure and implement a more rigid approach.
Whereby Messi was being offered £950m ($1.2 billion) for his wage packet over the course of three years at Al-Hilal, it is simply not the type of deal the Blues, who have long-dreamt of signing the player, can match. For now, with PSG open to parting ways with Neymar, Messi already gone and Ronaldo far in the distance, Boehly's goal of securing one of the pillars of modern football for the past ten years (and more) has faded.
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