Gustavo Poyet has revealed the lengths Chelsea went to in order to secure his signature in July 1997.
Poyet joined the Blues on a free transfer from Real Zaragoza and went on to spend four years at Stamford Bridge before a move to Tottenham in July 2001.
He made 143 appearances for Chelsea in those four years and established himself as a firm fan-favourite during his time there, helping the side to win the FA Cup, Community Shield, UEFA Cup Winners Cup and Super Cup during his time with them.
He had arrived from Zaragoza with a history of success, having made 176 appearances for the Spanish club and helped them to the Copa del Rey in 1993/94 and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994/95.
Like with Chelsea, he was a firm favourite at the club and has now revealed he wouldn’t have left had it not been for the effort the Blues made to sign him.
“Two months before I could start negotiating, Chelsea came to Zaragoza,” he told Heraldo.
“They didn’t just send me a fax. They took a plane and came to see me. They wanted me with Gullit, Zola, Vialli, Petrescu, Di Matteo, Leboeuf… It was time.
“If they had came to me two years earlier, I wouldn’t have gone. In 1994, I wouldn’t go. That year, after winning the Cup against Celta, I finished my contract. And I renewed.
“And I got hot because I thought they were going to pay me more. London became my home. If I don’t work, I’m there because I have my life there. The decision was right but very complicated.
“In 94, when we were negotiating, I left La Romareda very angry with the offer Zaragoza made me. Very, very angry. My agent, luckily, was intelligent and left a door open.
“After analysing where I could go, it was convenient for me to renew at Zaragoza. Thank goodness. This was the third key moment: the federative leave, the goals against Murcia and the renewal in ’94. This explains my path in Zaragoza.”
