Veron is the best - Ranieri
Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri claimed he had signed “the best midfielder in the world” with the £15m (€21.3m) capture of Juan Sebastian Veron from Manchester United.
And Ranieri said he was “sure” that Veron would play better for Chelsea than he did for United, who paid £28.1m (€39.3m) for the Argentinian.
The arrival of Veron and Joe Cole – signed for £6.6m (€9.4m) from West Ham – has taken Chelsea’s summer spending since Roman Abramovich’s takeover of the club to just short of £60m (€85m).
But Ranieri scotched speculation that Inter Milan striker Christian Vieri was about to join the stampede of players heading to Stamford Bridge – “I think Christian will stay at Inter” – and admitted that Chelsea’s heavy outlay on players did not guarantee success this season.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day. I think Alex Ferguson had seven years to win his first title and for me now it is important to build a team and secondly a group.
“I want to build a spirit for the group because you can have all the best players in the world but if you do not have a group you cannot win.
“They (the players) must be a group, then maybe you can win. This is my target and then I want to see if we can close the gap between us and Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.”
Asked if he felt he still needed to sign a top-class striker, even if he was not expecting to land Vieri, Ranieri tetchily replied: “What I need I speak with Mr Abramovich about – not you.”
Celebrating the arrival of Veron and Cole, Ranieri enthused: “I think Veron is the best midfielder in the world and I’m very happy to have him at the club.
“Cole is a fantastic young player. I spoke to Gianfranco Zola and Paolo di Canio about him and they told me that Joe was ready for Chelsea.”
Although Veron had his moments at Manchester United the overall impression was of a player who had failed to justify the huge amount of money spent on him.
But Ranieri refused to be drawn into discussing whether or not he was surprised that United had been willing to let Veron go.
“I don’t think about it,” he said. “I don’t think about what Manchester United are thinking. I think about Chelsea, I think positive and I feel very happy because our midfield is stronger now. They are both fantastic players and they can play together.
“I did not see Sebastian in all the matches (for Manchester United) but for me he is a top-class player and I am sure he will play better with us,” insisted Ranieri, who nevertheless felt it necessary to add: “I gamble”.
