Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has revealed he signed for Atletico Madrid because Leeds United prevented him from joining Chelsea.
Hasselbaink landed in the Premier League from Boavista in 1997 and marked his two seasons at Elland Road with 42 goals in 87 games in all competitions.
His form had attracted the attention of Chelsea and Hasselbaink was tempted by the opportunity to play at Stamford Bridge. However, Leeds were unwilling to sell him to a direct rival, and Hasselbaink instead joined Atletico Madrid on a four-year deal.
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His spell in the Spanish capital would last just one season, however, as Hasselbaink was granted his Chelsea wish following Atletico's relegation from La Liga in 2000.
"The year before when I was at Leeds, Chelsea showed some interest in me and I wanted to go, but Leeds didn’t want to sell me to an English club so I decided to go to Atletico instead," Hasselbaink told Parimatch.
"I was planning to stay in Madrid for four years because I had signed a four-year contract, but when we went down Atletico couldn’t keep me in the second tier.
"So when Chelsea came in for me again and made an offer, I had my heart set on it. I wanted to come back to England and it was a great opportunity to do so with Chelsea, it proved me right, I made the right choice."
Hasselbaink scored 87 goals across four seasons at Chelsea - lifting the FA Charity Shield, and finishing runners-up in the FA Cup in 2002.
He would later help guide Middlesbrough to the UEFA Cup final in 2006, before collecting his second FA Cup runners-up medal with Championship side Cardiff City in his final season as a professional.
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