Joaquín believes that he was right to turn down a mega offer for
him from Chelsea before deciding to leave Real Betis to join
Valencia last year.
The Spanish international winger has revealed that he was the
subject of a 42m offer from the Blues, but declined after
considering that he would not be happy in England.
José Mourinho was keen to add the wideman to his ranks in August
2006 and Roman Abramovich sanctioned the enormous bid to persuade
the Spanish to part with their iconic player.
Instead, Joaquín opted to leave Betis and move to Mestalla for 25m
in order to stay in the Spanish league and closer to his close-knit
family in Seville.
"I rejected an enormous deal with Chelsea when I was still with
Betis," he told AS. "After a meeting with Mourinho and Abramovich
the offer was 42m.
"It was so incredible, but I studied the situation and decided to
reject their offer. I want to be happy and because of this I
decided to move to Valencia.
"I may not have received the money but my life is better than in
London, I am convinced.
"I do not have any regrets about this decision. In football, money
is not always the key."
