Farewell Alex (Video)
Today as expected, Alex signed for PSG and ex Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti after asking to leave the club towards the end of last year. T...
https://www.chelseadaft.org/2012/01/farewell-alex-video.html
Today as expected, Alex signed for PSG and ex Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti after asking to leave the club towards the end of last year.
The Official Chelsea Website posted up confirmation this afternoon with a statement that reads:
"Chelsea Football Club can confirm we have agreed terms for the permanent transfer of Alex to Paris St Germain.
The 29-year-old's transfer sees him link up with former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti in the French capital.
The Brazilian defender enjoyed a successful four years at Stamford Bridge and leaves us having won the Barclays Premier League in 2009/10, as well as the FA Cup in 2008/09 and 2009/10.
Alex joined the club shortly before the start of the 2007/08 campaign. He moved to London following a three-year spell in Holland at PSV Eindhoven where Chelsea had the first option to secure his signature.
His debut season at the club saw him make 39 appearances, more than both John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho which was a big enough statement in itself given their experience and standing within the club.
Alex was soon to become renowned for his ability to score wonderful goals from long distance, his first for the club coming in a 2-0 win at Middlesbrough. Other stand-out strikes soon followed, the most memorable coming against Liverpool in the Champions League in 2009 and Arsenal at the start of the 2010/11 season.
An injury sustained by Ricardo Carvalho during Alex's second season at the club saw him feature regularly again and he scored four goals in all competitions.
The Double-winning campaign began badly for Alex when he was forced out of action with a hernia injury. On his return to fitness he had to be patient as Terry and Carvalho were in fine form, but with Carlo Ancelotti rotating Alex and Carvalho to play alongside the captain, an injury to the Portuguese gave Alex a sustained run in the team, culminating in the Blues lifting both the Barclays Premier League title and the FA Cup for the first time in our history.
The following campaign began with Alex as a first-choice starter alongside Terry and he was instrumental in the side conceding only once in the opening five games. An awful run for the side during the middle of the campaign saw him feature less regularly though, and the arrival of fellow Brazilian David Luiz in the January transfer window served only to limit his opportunities even further.
An injury at the start of this season meant he wasn't able to stake a claim for a regular place early on, and though he eventually did come into the side, starting alongside Terry in the 1-0 win up at Blackburn in November, but after handing in a transfer request he did not appear in our colours again.
Alex made 115 starts for Chelsea with 19 further substitute appearances. He scored 10 goals.
Everybody at Chelsea Football Club would like to express their thanks to Alex for his service and we wish him well for the future.
Alex played a big part in Chelsea's success and he will be remembered as an important part of our double winning side of two seasons ago. In that season, he was fantastic keeping Ricardo Carvalho out of the side. It's just a shame that he could never rediscover that kind of form.
So we all wish him well at PSG and every success. For now, Chelsea fans are left with memories of Alex and they will all be great ones. A solid defender who's free kicks always packed a punch. Here below is a video of Alex's best ones!. Enjoy.
KTBFFH
Check out my blog posts on the Official Chelsea Website - http://bit.ly/mRUOqw
Follow me and my blog on Twitter - http://bit.ly/gP9Dwt
Follow the blog on Facebook - http://www.blogger.com/htCheck%20out%20tp://on.fb.me/i5OTbj
Grab my RSS Feed - http://bit.ly/ijgiIT
Sign up to my email updates - http://bit.ly/eTEVrt
My YouTube Channel - http://bit.ly/giLSqr
Grab your Chelsea FC Fan App on Android.