Chelsea is easy meat...Ronnie
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Ronaldinho has fanned the flames ahead of Barcelona's UEFA Champions League date with Chelsea next month, by suggesting the Premiership champions will be 'easy to beat'.
The two sides are no stranger to one another having met in the tournament's knockout stage stage in each of the last two seasons, with controversy dogging the sides' recent clashes.
Group A sees the occasionally feuding pair drawn alongside Werder Bremen and Levski Sofia, with Ronaldinho more wary of the German opposition than he is of Jose Mourinho's star-studded team.
"They will be easy to beat because their new signings Andrei Shevchenko, Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole won't have settled in," Ronaldinho told the Daily Express.
"Anybody would think Chelsea are our main rivals, but I hold Werder Bremen in high regard. They will be very strong opposition."
The Brazilian admits he is surprised by the hype surrounding his team's clash with Chelsea, although the flamboyant star believes it will be to his side's advantage to play The Blues sooner rather than later.
"People call our group the group of death, but this is football, not war," added Ronaldinho.
"However, the amount of hype surrounding Chelsea takes my breath away. It is better for us to play them now rather than later in the season.
"Ballack, Shevchenko and Cole may well make them stronger. But they will need time to settle and this will be to Chelsea's disadvantage."
The two sides are no stranger to one another having met in the tournament's knockout stage stage in each of the last two seasons, with controversy dogging the sides' recent clashes.
Group A sees the occasionally feuding pair drawn alongside Werder Bremen and Levski Sofia, with Ronaldinho more wary of the German opposition than he is of Jose Mourinho's star-studded team.
"They will be easy to beat because their new signings Andrei Shevchenko, Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole won't have settled in," Ronaldinho told the Daily Express.
"Anybody would think Chelsea are our main rivals, but I hold Werder Bremen in high regard. They will be very strong opposition."
The Brazilian admits he is surprised by the hype surrounding his team's clash with Chelsea, although the flamboyant star believes it will be to his side's advantage to play The Blues sooner rather than later.
"People call our group the group of death, but this is football, not war," added Ronaldinho.
"However, the amount of hype surrounding Chelsea takes my breath away. It is better for us to play them now rather than later in the season.
"Ballack, Shevchenko and Cole may well make them stronger. But they will need time to settle and this will be to Chelsea's disadvantage."
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