Chelsea winger Florent Malouda has revealed he had offers from Liverpool and Real Madrid when at Lyon.
After deciding where he wanted to play after Lyon, with the presence of Didier Drogba and Michael Essien helping him choose Chelsea, Malouda had to wait while Manchester United and Real Madrid both came knocking for his talents.
So when the Blues eventually came searching for his skills, he dismissed the chance of playing under the likes of Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez for west London.
He told Chelsea TV: "Liverpool were the first club to make an offer. Lyon have a good relationship with Real Madrid as well, so they were saying to go there but my first choice was Chelsea.
"When Didier signed here, I came to Stamford Bridge many times, there was also Makelele and then Michael Essien came. I felt if I had to go to England then this would be the place where I'd feel comfortable and it would have the atmosphere that would help me perform.
"So I told the president of Lyon that my choice was Chelsea and I asked him to get me here before pre-season started."
