Brazilian forward Robinho says that his first priority was to join Chelsea when he left Real Madrid in 2008.
He eventually joined Manchester City, but a deal to join Chelsea was very close to being complete, before the London club fell foul of the Madrid hierarchy.
Robinho told Marca, "My goal was to go to Chelsea. [Luiz Felipe] Scolari told me that I’d make the difference for him in the team.
"But Real Madrid didn’t get on well with them. They didn’t like Chelsea selling shirts with my name on before the agreement had been reached."
He joined City instead at the outset of their project headed up by Sheikh Mansour and Robinho was convinced by their ambitious project.
"I spoke to the owner, Sheikh Mansour, a few times. He told me that he was going to make a big effort to sign Kaka and [Lionel] Messi."
Robinho enjoyed a mixed spell at City, where his excellent performances were interspersed with disciplinary issues.
"I lacked maturity and the ability to stop and think with a clear head and consider the consequences before making decisions. Only age and experience can give you this."
