Former Ajax youngster John Goossens has revealed why he once turned down a move to Chelsea, despite the obvious step up it would have been for him.
Goossens has been speaking to Voetbal Primeur’s Done Deal podcast, relayed by Voetbal Nieuws, about his career and the decision to ignore interest from Chelsea when it came along early on in his playing days.
He started his career with Ajax youth and made his way up the various levels, featuring for the U17s, U19s and U21s over a five-year period before a move for NEC Nijmegen,
From there he went on to have something of a varied career, featuring for Feyenoord, then Pune City, FC Voluntari and Chicago before returning to the Netherlands with ADO Den Haag before retiring in January 2022.
At one point, though, things could have turned out very differently for him as impressive performances with the Dutch youth side had clubs taking an interest in him.
That summer saw Chelsea ‘knocked on the door’ but it seems Goossens was uninterested in the switch, despite what it may have offered to him.
“I was not open to it from the first moment. To be honest, I did not even see the offer. I had one goal and that was to end up at Ajax 1,” he said.
“I am also a family man and I attach great importance to that. I lived at home and was in a safe environment. Your life changes completely with such a step. I just didn’t like it.”
