Cech dismisses move away from Chelsea

Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech dismissed speculation over his future insisting here Wednesday that he was committed to Chelsea.

"I would like to stay at Chelsea, as long as possible," Cech told the Dnes newspaper.

He said he would like to be at the club after his current contract expires in 2010.

"It would not bother me if I stayed for the rest of my career at Chelsea. I can assure Chelsea fans that I do not want to leave. I am happy here," Cech added, saying that his sights were set on next week's Champions League final against Manchester United.

Cech's future at Chelsea has been subject of an explosion of media speculation with Italian giant's AC Milan reported to be willing to make a 48 million euro (74.4 million dollar) bid for his services and Spanish club Barcelona also said to be interested.

The London Evening Standard reported Tuesday that Chelsea was willing to up Cech's weekly wage by 20,000 pounds (25,160 euros) to 90,000 pounds to encourage his to stay at the club.

Speculation about Cech's future was sparked by an interview with his business manager Pavel Zika at the weekend in which he said that a major European club was prepared to offer 40 million euros for the goalkeeper and that he wanted to renegotiate his contract with Chelsea.

Sapa-AFP