I almost joined Manchester United after dinner with Sir Alex Ferguson but then Chelsea called me

Arjen Robben has revealed why he snubbed Manchester United in favour of Chelsea despite enjoying a candlelit dinner with Sir Alex Ferguson. The 40-year-old, who announced his retirement from football for a second time in July 2021, joined the Blues from PSV Eindhoven in July 2004 in a deal worth £12million.

Robben featured 106 times for Chelsea, scoring 19 goals and providing 21 assists, and helped Jose Mourinho get his hands on back-to-back Premier League titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup. His impressive performances in the English top flight eventually courted the interest of Real Madrid, who forked out £24m for his signature.

After a couple of years in the Spanish capital, winning the Supercopa de España, Robben signed for Bayern Munich – where he quickly established himself as one of the greatest wingers of all time. The former Netherlands international appeared over 300 times for the German giants, collecting seven Bundesliga titles, five DFB-Pokals, four DFL-Supercups, a UEFA Super Cup and, of course, a Champions League winners' medal.

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Robben etched himself into the history books, but it could have been all so different had the Dutchman joined Manchester United instead of Chelsea. In an interview with FourFourTwo in 2018, he explained why a move to Old Trafford collapsed.

"I had a very good conversation with him (Sir Alex Ferguson) over dinner in Manchester and we spoke about football and life," said Robben. "I also went and had a good look around the training ground and everything was good, but after I went back