Deco insists he is not the subject of favouritism

Ever since Chelsea’s World Cup winning manager decided to substitute Michael Ballack and John Obi Mikel instead of an ailing Deco in the unconvincing home draw with West Ham last month, Chelsea message boards have been rife with the suggestion that the Brazilian-Portuguese midfielder is completely untouchable.

Speaking about his first six months in the capital to Brazilian newspaper Globo Esporte, Deco leapt to his own defence:

“I’ve won many trophies in football and none of them was with Felipe,” he said.

“I haven’t been on the bench many times in my career, I was a starter everywhere I’ve been and the coach was not Felipe. So I don’t need to give many explanations.

“When we came here everything was going well and everybody was saying that Felipe was the greatest, that the team was going to win everything. People exaggerate, and as the Brazilian saying goes, you go from eight to 80. That’s normal, and it’s the same here as in Spain or in Portugal.”

The midfielder also hinted that he is not particularly happy with life in London, by admitting he won’t stick around longer than he has to “I am very eager to return to living in Brazil,” and by omitting England from his list of places in the world he has loved living in.

By sticking with the midfielder regardless of performance and consistency, is Big Phil showing favouritism towards the chap with the big eyebrows? Once you finish admiring our incredible photoshopping skills, let us know what you think below…