Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich must up his bid for AC Milan midfield ace Andrea Pirlo.

Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has confirmed he's rejected Chelsea's offer this week for the midfielder: "I sent it back because we are not interested."

The proposal was for £6 million cash plus striker Claudio Pizarro in exchange for Pirlo.

La Repubblica says after last night's thrashing by Bayern Munich, Galliani knows he must cash in on Pirlo quickly in order to boost their owner transfer kitty and meet coach Leonardo's demand for new signings.