Dede has been outstanding for Dortmund in a difficult season both on and off the pitch, and even though he only accepted a new two-year deal in January, the Bundesliga club’s parlous financial state may be the deciding factor with regards to the sale of Dede.

Dede told the Ruhr Nachrichten newspaper: “There has been contact on two occasions, the first one was one-and-a-half months ago and the second one about two weeks ago.

“In order to play in England I must have played in three-quarters of Brazil’s international games or hold an EU passport and I can't offer that, but Chelsea claimed that they would look for ways to naturalise me in Germany.”

Dede joined Dortmund from Atletico Mineiro in 1998, and helped steer the Westphalia outfit to the 2002 Bundesliga title.

This season the club’s future was under threat, but a financial rescue package has ensured they will play in the German top flight for at least one more season.

Meanwhile, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck claims Jose Mourinho’s men have not received the credit they deserve for their behaviour on the pitch.

Chelsea face Manchester United tonight in the penultimate game of a double-winning season that has brought individual awards for skipper John Terry and Frank Lampard.

Buck issued a thinly-veiled dig at Arsenal and tonight’s opponents Manchester United by observing that none of Chelsea’s players had either been sent off in the league or been guilty of ’throwing pizza in a tunnel”.

While that was a reference to the incident which occurred after Arsenal’s defeat at Old Trafford last October, Chelsea have also been involved in controversy on several occasions this season.

They face a Premier League hearing for allegedly ’tapping-up’ Arsenal’s England left-back Ashley Cole in a London hotel in February, while Manchester United were unhappy with chief executive Peter Kenyon for his ’accidental’ dinner date with centre-half Rio Ferdinand.

Jose Mourinho was fined by the Football Association for accusing United’s players of ’cheating’ in their Carling Cup semi-final, first-leg tie.

And he was blamed by some within UEFA for a part in the resignation of Anders Frisk after claims the referee held a private meeting with Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard during their Champions League clash in the Nou Camp.

Chelsea have also achieved great success on the pitch, with the Barclays Premiership trophy added to the Carling Cup, even if they were beaten in the Champions League semi-finals by Liverpool.

Buck declared: “We take football and doing the right thing by football very seriously at Chelsea. We have had our fair share of bad publicity this year, so let me shout about a few things that we have not received sufficient recognition for.

“We have not had one player sent off in the Premier League, we are top of the fair play table and no-one at our club, as far as I know, has thrown any pizza in the players’ tunnel.

“Even when we have been found guilty, as by UEFA after the Barcelona game, it later emerged that the facts were not as first painted.”

Mourinho is likely to ring the changes against United and rest some of his regular first team players. Carlo Cudicini is almost certain to continue in goal while Didier Drogba is expected to lead the attack.