Ashley Cole has revealed that he could have joined either Real Madrid or Barcelona before signing for Chelsea.
The 44-year-old shocked Arsenal fans when he left his boyhood club for Jose Mourinho's Blues, who had just won their second consecutive Premier League title in the summer of 2006.
It came after a contract dispute with the Gunners left Cole feeling 'underappreciated and undervalued' when the club pulled an offer worth some £55,000-per-week after the European Championship of 2004.
'I came back from having a successful tournament and my agent told me they've reneged on the contract, it's about £5,000 less,' Cole said on Stick to Football this week.
'But I didn't care about the money. I was like give me the contract and I'll sign it, this is my club. I was getting bigger and I had more stature but I'm not, in my mind, asking for crazy money.
'It was just the thought of them telling me you're going to be the next captain of this club, the next Tony Adams, to then go, "you're not actually worth it and we don't value you as a person." So I was like, okay cool.
'I felt a bit underappreciated and undervalued. So that's where my head and heart was at. I was like, "You've taken my love away" and it didn't need to be like that.'
Initially Cole envisioned a move abroad, with both Real Madrid and Barcelona at one point expressing their interest. However, after marrying popstar Cheryl Cole, the England defender ultimately decided against leaving London.
'From what I was told and heard, I was going to Real Madrid,' Cole admitted. 'I was having conversations with agents because at that point I could pre-sign for a team abroad. So, it was Madrid and kind of Barcelona. I don't know how deep it was.
'Things changed, I got married, and didn't actually want to leave the country in the end. Then, around a year and a half later, I remember sitting in my box with my agent and him calling me outside and going, "You're never going to believe who this is, it's Chelsea." So I was like, okay!
'I think they offered me maybe five or six grand more (than what he was on at Arsenal).'
Eventually Cole moved to Stamford Bridge in September 2006 in a £5million swap deal with William Gallas, who went north to the Emirates.
The Englishman went on to make himself a club legend at Chelsea, racking up 337 appearances during an eight-year stay and winning four FA Cups, one Champions League, one Premier League and a Europa League.
However he could not replicate such club success on the international stage, despite being part of an England team including the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and David Beckham.
Opening up on the Three Lions' failure to win a trophy, Cole explained: 'Reflecting now and where I am now, you know working with the England seniors now and seeing what they have compared to what we had, you think now that our team just didn't work.
'To get all of those players on the pitch - the three midfielders for example - and all the top players on the pitch together, I don't think it works and we can't all be what we are for our clubs.
'So Paul Scholes cannot be Paul Scholes with Steven Gerrard in the team, because Stevie G cannot be Stevie G with Paul Scholes, Lampard can't be the Frank Lampard for Chelsea with those two in the team.
'So were the players open enough to sacrifice themselves? People need to be more selfless and I don't think we were. Scholes wanted to hit his Man United diagonals, so did (David) Becks, Stevie G wanted to drive and push us up the pitch. Us defenders wanted to get forward.
'When Wazza (Rooney) gets in the pocket, are we supporting him? It just didn't work.'
Cole made some 107 appearances for his country during a 13-year international career.