Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas feared his Porto buyout clause would price him out of a move to Stamford Bridge.
Mickey Walsh, the former Porto and Republic of Ireland striker who lives in Portugal, is a firm admirer of the young Portuguese boss. And he believes AVB will be a success at Stamford Bridge to justify that colossal pay-out.
Walsh told the Sunday Mirror: "He did a great job at Porto last season by winning a treble - the Portuguese title and Cup as well as the Europa League.
"He thought Porto might have priced him out of the market and he was prepared to stay at Porto. There's no doubt about that. That was clear in his mind.
"But all that changed when Pinto da Costa, the Porto president, revealed publicly the exact details of Andre's contract.
"Pinto da Costa's a very shrewd guy. Remember, this is the guy who spotted Jose Mourinho's potential, recruited Andre from a small club called Academica Coimbra and has now put in a new coach with an £18m get-out clause!
"It was actually 15 million euros as compensation for Andre, an incredible amount. That's why he thought no one would pay it. In fact, only one team in the world would do it and it was Roman Abramovich and Chelsea."
