Manchester United have been beaten to one of their top transfer targets by Chelsea – and it’s not the first time that United have seen one of their top targets move to Stamford Bridge.
They’re two of the biggest and most successful clubs in England, but the bright lights of west London and recent pedigree often give Chelsea an edge over their domestic rivals.
We’ve identified six players who reportedly chose Chelsea over a move to Old Trafford.
Liam Delap
Delap had his pick of Premier League clubs after Ipswich’s relegation triggered a £30million release clause.
Everton, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest registered an interest alongside Chelsea and United, but Delap was thought to prefer a move to Old Trafford.
But defeat in the Europa League final to Spurs left United without European football in 2025-26, causing the striker to switch his preference towards Stamford Bridge.
United will have to dust themselves down and accept their club isn’t as attractive as it once was.
John Obi Mikel
In April 2005, shortly after turning 18, Mikel signed a contract with United and wore a United shirt in a press conference to announce the transfer.
Deal done, it would have seemed.
However, no agents were present when Mikel put pen to paper, and Chelsea claimed they already had a deal in place to sign the teenager from Lyn Oslo having also taken him on trial the previous year.
Mikel went missing the following month before surfacing to claim he had been pressured into signing for United and that he did in fact want to join Chelsea.
He did not return to Lyn for three months and played no club football for an entire year.
But in July 2006, after a lengthy legal battle, Mikel finally signed for Chelsea with United receiving £12million in compensation, three times the amount Lyn got.
Eden Hazard
Hazard was one of European football’s hottest properties in the summer of 2012, with clubs across the continent queuing up to sign the winger from Lille.
Hazard had interest from several Premier League clubs with United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham all making an approach, before Chelsea won the race to secure his services in a £32million deal.
“I had a chance to sign for Manchester United, Man City, Tottenham, but I made the right decision,” Hazard said, as per the Manchester Evening News.
“I spoke with the owner and I had Didier Drogba and Joe Cole on the phone telling me this was the best club.”
Hazard spent seven successful seasons at Chelsea and developed into one of the Premier League’s finest footballers, winning two league titles and two Europa League trophies among his six major honours.
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Arjen Robben
Robben came close to signing for Manchester United in 2004, with the teenage winger having flown into England for talks with the Red Devils.
All appeared in place for the PSV Eindhoven prospect to join the club and the player’s father went as far as to say that Old Trafford was the ‘only place’ Robben wanted to play.
However, a deal dragged on as United failed to match PSV’s asking price, allowing Chelsea and former chief executive Peter Kenyon to steal in and snare the Dutchman from under their noses.
“I had a very good conversation with him (Ferguson) over dinner in Manchester and we spoke about football and life,” Robben recalled to FourFourTwo.
“I also went and had a good look around the training ground and everything was good, but after I went back to PSV nothing happened.
“There was no real contact and the deal didn’t happen. PSV were also negotiating with Chelsea at that time, so maybe they offered PSV more money? I don’t really know.
“I spoke to Chelsea and I liked their plans. We had one meeting and everything was done pretty quickly.
Had Manchester United offered me a deal straight after I met them, I would have signed there, but it didn’t happen and I have got no regrets.”
N’Golo Kante
Kante’s role in Leicester’s shock title win in 2016 had the Premier League’s elite scrambling for his signature, with both Chelsea and Manchester United expressing an interest in the midfielder.
Jose Mourinho made a call to persuade Kante to move to Manchester, but the Frenchman turned down advances from Old Trafford in favour of a move to Chelsea.
“It was amazing to have Mourinho call me, even though I’d been warned before how he would appeal to me,” he told Sky Sports.
“I listened to his arguments about why I should move to United. But at that time I was hesitant between staying at Leicester or leaving for Chelsea.
“My discussions with them were already well underway. But when I spoke, I had a good feeling with Conte.”
Kante was named as the PFA Player of the Year during a brilliant debut season at Chelsea, in which he helped the Blues to Premier League title success.
Pedro
Chelsea beat United in another transfer battle one year earlier, with Pedro revealing that the Blues’ greater interest persuaded him to move to Stamford Bridge.
“I had offers from other English clubs – Manchester United, City and Chelsea, who were the club that more rapidly resolved my transfer and the one that showed more interest in me,” he told the Manchester Evening News.
“Maybe Manchester United fell asleep,” the winger’s agent, Antonio Sanz, told Cadena Ser. “The negotiation with Chelsea was like a lightning bolt.
“It is common knowledge that United were in the bidding for Pedro, but Chelsea were faster and within 24 hours reached an agreement with the club. It was a whirlwind.”
Chelsea activated the £22m release clause in Pedro’s contract at Barcelona and the Spaniard made 206 appearances across five seasons with the club, scoring 43 goals.