Inside Alexandre Pato's forgotten spell at Chelsea where Brazilian flop scored one goal

dailystar.co.uk:

Chelsea were desperate to sign Alexandre Pato.The AC Milan forward, who was the latest exquisite piece of craftsmanship from Brazil's inexhaustible conveyor belt of talent, had the world at his feet after taking Serie A by storm as teenager.

His explosive pace and eye for goal had turned him into the envy of European football, and that year he was duly crowned winner of the prestigious Golden Boy award.Carlo Ancelotti, who had just joined Chelsea from Milan, wanted to bring Pato with him, but the Italian club were understandably keen to cling on to their prodigious youngster and rebuffed his advances.Back then, if you'd have told Blues fans that Pato would have been theirs in seven years they'd have bitten your hand off, but by the time the Brazilian eventually got his move to Stamford Bridge, everything had changed.Four prolific seasons at the San Siro saw Pato likened to genuine Seleção royalty in Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka, and before long there was talk of him following in their footsteps by winning the Ballon d'Or.

In his own words: "I was the supertalent, the sure thing," but in 2011 the injuries began.He spent most of the next two seasons in and out of the treatment room, and with his momentum severed and confidence shot he headed back to Brazil in a desperate bid to save his career.

Mercifully, the injury problems subsided and the goals began flowing again, and when Chelsea approached with a loan offer in January 2016, it felt like a no-brainer.Pato arrived to find the Blues in a bit of mess.