Chelsea are reported to have offered Milan a world record £57m for Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko – but were told it wasn’t enough.

The Premier League champions offered Milan £48.9m plus Argentinian striker Hernan Crespo in an attempt to bring the 29-year-old Ukrainian to Stamford Bridge.

With Crespo valued at around £8m, the fee would have beaten the current record of £46m Real Madrid paid Juventus for Zinedine Zidane four years ago.

According to the report in today’s Daily Mirror, Chelsea were prepared to pay Shevchenko £150,000 a week on a four-year deal.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is a personal friend of Shevchenko. But, despite his good relations with the player, he was unable to persuade Milan to sell their most-prized asset.

Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani said: “Chelsea have asked us for Shevchenko but we have told them ‘No’.

“Sheva is not for sale. He is unsellable.”

Milan are currently negotiating a loan deal with Chelsea for Crespo. After a successful season at the San Siro, the Argentinian is keen to stay in Italy, although the talks have encountered problems with Chelsea’s Chief executive Peter Kenyon stating that his club would not be held to ransom over Crespo.