I snubbed Sir Alex Ferguson and Man United to join Chelsea - and it was all because of one player
Former Chelsea winger Eden Hazard has admitted he would have never moved to Stamford Bridge if they had not beat Bayern Munich in the 2012 Champions League final. In the build-up to the 2012 summer transfer window, he was in high demand, having impressed while playing for Lille in Ligue 1.
Hazard enjoyed a star-making campaign that season, scoring a whopping 22 goals and assisting 23 in all competitions. It seemed set that the Belgian would be moving to the Premier League in the summer, with clubs lining up to make Hazard their player.
However, until the 2012 Champions League final, the Blues were not on the radar. Explaining his thought process, the retired forward told John Obi Mikel's 'Obi One Podcast': «I had a chat with Sir Alex Ferguson. I spoke with Harry Redknapp, at that time, he was the manager [of] Tottenham.
»I went to Manchester to see the Man City training ground. So I had a few options, but not Chelsea.
«The last year [at] Lille, Chelsea were not good in the league. I knew I was leaving France to go to the Premier League, but not Chelsea because I wanted to play Champions League. That move came because you [Chelsea] won the Champions League.»
The Blues sacked manager Andre Villas-Boas in the middle of the campaign as Chelsea struggled in the Premier League. Roberto Di Matteo was appointed caretaker for the remainder of the season to steady the ship, but few thought he would lead them to Champions League glory.
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