Chelsea’s proposed transfer of Alex was thrown into chaos after the defender became so fed up with being questioned by immigration officials that he got on a plane back to his native Brazil. The defender spent about four hours being questioned at Heathrow on Sunday after he told officials that he had arrived to join Chelsea.

He was informed that he could remain in England, but he was not eligible to play in matches until he was granted a work permit. Chelsea’s initial application was turned down by the Home Office, but an appeal is scheduled for next week.

The immigration officials are believed to have contacted Chelsea, only to be told that the player had not signed for the club. A Chelsea official later telephoned the immigration officers to confirm that they had agreed a deal to sign Alex, from PSV Eindhoven, this summer.

The Home Office would not discuss the individual case, but said that there were stringent guidelines about gaining entry into the country. “We have a duty to ensure that the public are aware of, and have confidence in, the security in place at the border, which is for their protection,” Brodie Clark, strategic director of border control at the Border and Immigration Agency, said. “Visitors to the UK also need to be aware that they will be subject to checks before being granted entry to this country.”

The request for a work permit was turned down because Alex has played in only eight of the past 14 matches for Brazil over the past two years, a lower ratio than the 75 per cent of games required by the Government. Chelsea believe that they will be able to overturn the decision because competition for places in the Brazil side is intense.

“Alex was due to arrive into England to discuss personal terms,” a Chelsea spokesman said last night. “At airport immigration, there was a request to clarify Alex’s current status. All of the paperwork for his entry was in order. After an initial delay, he was cleared to enter the country. He chose voluntarily to fly back but will return when necessary.”

Alex first came to the attention of Chelsea when they were buying Arjen Robben from PSV. Both the London club and the Dutch club were interested in signing him, but the defender moved to the Netherlands because the country has more lenient immigration rules. It was also felt that the Brazilian would be able to adapt to European football before moving to Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea saying that they took first refusal to buy Alex. Chelsea have a similar arrangement with two other players at PSV, Slobodan Rajkovic and Alcides.

Real Madrid have made Cesc Fàbregas, the Arsenal midfield player, their No 1 transfer goal for next summer, with Ramón Calderón, the club president, still hoping to have all three of his main targets at the Bernabéu within two years. When asked if there was still time to sign the three players he promised during his election campaign — Robben, Fàbregas and Kaká — Calderón said: “There’s a chance that they will all be here by the end of my third year in office.” When asked if that could mean Robben this summer, Fàbregas next year and Kaká the next year, Calderón said: “I think so.”

Robben’s potential move to Real could end up being a costly deal for the Spanish champions, according to Bernd Schuster, the coach. Real are understood to be ready to pay £20 million for the Holland winger. “It could be expensive,” Schuster said. “It is necessary to go slowly. The signing of Robben is very important for us.”

Martin Jol, the Tottenham Hotspur head coach, has been earmarked by the Dutch FA as the man to lead Holland into the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign. Marco van Basten, the coach, is likely to step down when his contract runs out after next year’s European Championship finals. The Dutch FA has made contact with Jol, who has three years left on his contract at White Hart Lane, but has received little encouragement.