Soccer:Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho has declared he is desperate to join former boss Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid. The Portuguese defender was signed by Mourinho in the first summer of his tenure at Stamford Bridge and played a key role in three Premier League-winning sides.
However, there has been speculation about a move away from England ever since Mourinho left in 2007.
The former FC Porto player looked likely to join his old manager at Inter Milan, but eventually remained in London, but now he has his heart set on a move to Spain.
"If there was a possibility to sign with Real Madrid, I would go there right now swimming or running," Carvalho told Spanish daily AS. "It would be a dream to be able to play for Madrid, which I consider to be the best club in the world, and follow the orders of the best coach in the history of football.
"With Mourinho I experienced two marvellous stages at Porto and Chelsea. To have the opportunity to win another Champions League with him at Real Madrid would be tremendous."
Didier Drogba is set to miss the start of the new Premier League season after undergoing groin surgery.
Chelsea expect their star striker to return to training in "approximately three weeks", around the time the Blues kick-off their new campaign at home to West Brom.
The surgery certainly makes it highly unlikely that Drogba, who joins Petr Cech and ALex on the sidelines, will play in the Community Shield against Manchester United on August 8th.
A statement issued on the club's official website read: "Didier Drogba successfully underwent minimally invasive surgery yesterday [Friday] on the groin injury that had troubled him for some of last season.
"The decision to perform the procedure after his return from the World Cup was made to optimise his rehabilitation, and he is expected to return to full training in approximately three weeks."
Drogba would then likely need a period of time to regain match fitness.
Chelsea, the defending champions, appear to have a soft start to the new season. After playing West Brom on August 14th, they have games against Wigan, Stoke and West Ham before their Champions League campaign gets under way on either September 14th or 15th.