Loic Remy shares unbelievable story behind Chelsea move

Loic Remy has shared an unbelievable story behind his transfer to Chelsea, and also explained just how close he was to joining Liverpool.

• "At this moment, I was a Liverpool player as far as I was concerned, because I'd done the interviews, and I still have a picture of myself on my phone, holding their scarf!"
• "My agent told me this, and the market was so close to closing, and so he gave me the choice between Chelsea and Arsenal. In the end, I went with Chelsea because I just thought that Arsenal should have manifested themselves long before the end of the transfer window."
• "I don't know what happened to him, but he disappeared, and I never heard of him again. He was a crazy player, Charly Musonda. I thought he was heading for the first-team, and I wasn't the only one who thought that."
• "Some players just think that, once they've signed their first contract, they'll be fine... but it's a big mistake to think that way."
• "Eden was almost lazy in training, losing the ball, not defending; it was just like he was playing with his friends in the street. I knew him well from Ligue 1; we knew each other, and so I wanted to speak to him about it after a few sessions... "Eden, that's the way you train? Really?" "Listen. You will see who is the boss, this weekend."

Signing for Chelsea was the craziest move of my career, for sure. I can remember being on holiday, back in my home country, on a small island, and my agent gave me a call to tell me that Liverpool wanted to sign me. They were training in Boston for pre-season. That was fantastic news for me, so I asked him about the next steps. My agent told me what I needed to do and where I needed to go, but at the time, I didn't have my passport on me, so I couldn't make it to Boston. At the time, my agent was the same as Patrice Evra's - so Patrice's brother went to Lyon, my hometown, to get my passport, I then travelled all the way to Paris, and met Patrice's brother there, he gave me the passport and I flew straight to Boston. 

We arrived, me and my agent, and it all felt like a dream - it was happening so quickly. I met all the guys, started doing my interviews, and had a medical, but something was wrong. I didn't know what was wrong, but they said I just needed to wait for a couple of days. At this moment, I was a Liverpool player as far as I was concerned, because I'd done the interviews, and I still have a picture of myself on my phone, holding their scarf! 

It was a very proud moment for me, but two days later I found out that there was a problem with my medical, and the deal was off - they didn't want to take the risk, and while I was so disappointed, I accepted it and went back to London, ready to start training with QPR again. And then, Chelsea called my agent and said they wanted to sign me. They asked if I was available, which I was, and so we went to Cobham to do my medical. 

It's funny, because just before we signed, my agent had a call from Arsenal, who were asking whether I'd signed or not. 

"No, no, he's on his way to sign now." "Tell him not to sign - we want him!" 

My agent told me this, and the market was so close to closing, and so he gave me the choice between Chelsea and Arsenal. In the end, I went with Chelsea because I just thought that Arsenal should have manifested themselves long before the end of the transfer window. I was already at Cobham, ready to sign with Chelsea, had passed my medical, so I decided I wasn't going to change my mind. 

A mistake, or not? I don't think it was; at the end of the day, I won titles with Chelsea, but yes, it was a very complicated move behind the scenes! 

I remember a young guy coming up from the academy at Chelsea, and to be honest with you, I don't know where he's playing now: Charly Musonda. Charly was training with the first-team, from time-to-time, and honestly, he was unbelievable. He was so quick. I remember, at the time, he would've been around 16, training with Chelsea's first-team, and he didn't look out of place at all. He was still a kid, but he just fitted into the team, he was so confident, and he would have a laugh with the boys. That's incredible confidence in itself, but then he was so, so good on the pitch, too. I was convinced he was going to be a top player, for Chelsea, and for his country.  

I don't know what happened; sometimes you make these kind of predictions and you have these high expectations, but things don't work out, for whatever reason. I experienced it a lot when I was a youngster; I look back at some of the teams I played in, through the academies, and so many players were better than me, to be honest. But, at the end of the day, you realise it's not about the here and now; it's about the longevity. You know, I don't know what happened to him, but he disappeared, and I never heard of him again. He was a crazy player, Charly Musonda.  

I thought he was heading for the first-team, and I wasn't the only one who thought that. The club had high expectations for him, the newspapers were talking about him, and he even had a sponsorship deal, at such a young age. Football is crazy; you can work on the physical side of things, regardless of how big or small you are, you can change things. But nowadays, the mental aspect is as important. Some players just think that, once they've signed their first contract, they'll be fine... but it's a big mistake to think that way.  

I think back to my time at Chelsea and the player who always springs to mind first, for me, is Eden Hazard. This guy was just unbelievable. I was surrounded by so many great players, title winners, experienced names, like John Terry and Didier Drogba - and so I had to remind myself in those first few weeks that I deserved to be there, to be honest; I wasn't there by accident. I just wanted to learn from these guys, every single day, and that was pretty much my main target.  

But then you've got that magician, Eden Hazard, in his prime. He impressed me so much; he was so quick and strong. My first game for Chelsea was at Stamford Bridge, and I can remember in the week leading up to the game, Eden was almost lazy in training, losing the ball, not defending; it was just like he was playing with his friends in the street. I knew him well from Ligue 1; we knew each other, and so I wanted to speak to him about it after a few sessions... 

"Eden, that's the way you train? Really?" "Listen. You will see who is the boss, this weekend." 

That's what he said back to me, just like that.  

So the weekend came along, we're at home, I'm on the bench, taking everything in because it's my first time being involved with the team on a match day. The game started, and I saw him pick up the ball, and it was frightening. It was like he was playing against his kids; it was so easy for him. I came off the bench with about 20 minutes to go, and I ended up scoring off the back of an Eden Hazard run; I received the ball from Oscar, I think, and managed to finish it. So, I'd scored my first goal, I was so happy, it was a really proud moment for me and my family. I get back in the dressing room, and that's the moment where I could sit down and allow myself to think about what had just happened to me. And then someone comes and sits next to me... Eden Hazard. He just grabbed me: 

"I told you: who is the boss?!" 

  I shook his hand and had nothing else to add; he really was the boss in that team.  

I signed for Jose Mourinho's Chelsea side in 2014, and all I can remember from my first conversation with him is that he wanted to make sure I was feeling well, after the move, and then he explained to me what he wanted from me. It was all very casual with him.  

I see he's out in Turkey now, and having played there myself, all I'd say is good luck to him! This manager has the potential to go crazy all of a sudden, and so I'm sure he'll need to remember to calm down while he's out in Turkey, because he's going to deal with some crazy refereeing decisions - we see a lot about the corruption in that league, and he needs to be ready for that kind of thing. I'm sure he is, though, otherwise he wouldn't have signed with Fenerbahce.

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