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Romelu Lukaku will forever be remembered as someone Manchester United 'stole' from Chelsea's hands. The Blues' were in constant negotiations with Everton for the Belgian striker but were reluctant to pay the agent fee.
Manchester United swooped in, and with their 'good relationship' with Mino Raiola, they managed to secure the signing within no time. Lukaku has now officially been unveiled and has also joined them in pre-season training.
However, this is just a one-off. It's usually Chelsea who steal players from under United's nose. They have stolen so many, that we could actually make a list of top 5 players!
Here are the five best players Chelsea 'stole' from Manchester United.
#5 - Arjen Robben
Back in 2004, when Arjen Robben was at PSV, he was linked with a move to the Premier League. The Dutchman was heading to Old Trafford with Manchester United agreeing on a fee for him.
He was shown around the Theatre of Dreams along with his dad and also held talks with Sir Alex Ferguson. However, Chelsea swooped in at the last second and snapped him up.
"My meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson went very well," says Robben, "and I was ready to sign. But I was convinced by Ranieri and Kenyon – they told me the whole Chelsea story, and it appealed to me. I wasn't disappointed to miss out on United as in football things happen very fast."
The Dutchman moved to Real Madrid before joining the German giants, Bayern Munich. He is still at the Allianz Arena and is guiding them to become Bundesliga champions season after season.
#4 - Pedro
Being excess to requirements at Barcelona, Pedro was set to leave Camp Nou in the summer of 2015. Manchester United and Manchester City were the front-runners, but the Citizens backed out soon.
Red Devils were the hot favourites but were not willing to pay the £21 million demanded by the Catalan side. Ed Woodward and then manager, Louis van Gaal continued to hold negotiations with Barcelona to try and sign him for £17.5 million.
Jose Mourinho spotted the opportunity and informed Chelsea to sign him up. Chelsea made a move and agreed to pay the fee demanded as £19 million up front and £2 million as add-ons.
Chelsea's negotiations with Barcelona were just for 2 hours, and the deal was done. United, who held talks for more than a month, were left stranded as they believed that only they were negotiating for him and would land him comfortably.
Pedro confirmed the rumours and said, "I had offers from other English clubs - Manchester United, [Manchester] City and Chelsea, who were the club that more rapidly resolved my transfer and the one that showed more interest in me."
#3 - Didier Drogba
Surprised? Maybe you are, maybe not. But it's the truth. Didier Drogba was a target for Manchester United even before Chelsea made a move.
When the Ivorian was on top of his game at Marseille, Sir Alex Ferguson made personal visits to scout him. However, before he could make any move for the striker, Chelsea had signed him up.
Sir Alex Ferguson wrote in his book, "We went to check him out [at Marseille], but the club wanted £25million and Chelsea moved in for the kill before we had made up our minds." The Ivorian became a club legend at Chelsea and still helps the club whenever possible.
#2 - Eden Hazard
In 2012, Eden Hazard was setting Ligue 1 on fire. His skills and dribbles were catching everyone's eye. Every big club in Europe was sending scouts to watch him.
However, only two clubs were ready to match Lille's demands of £32 million – Chelsea and Manchester United. The Premier League sides were willing to battle it out for the Belgian and were desperate to sign him.
Sir Alex Ferguson even held a meeting with Hazard to convince him to join United. What happened then? Eden Hazard got a call from Roman Abramovich!
"There was a struggle between Chelsea and United, but according to me, Chelsea has the best project. I was in advanced contact with both clubs, and I spoke to both coaches," said Hazard.
He then added, “I spoke with Abramovich, he is very simple and loves football,” and then sent out that famous tweet!
#1 - John Obi Mikel
The infamous transfer of John Obi Mikel is something everyone knows. The Nigerian had not only agreed to join Manchester United, but he signed also signed a contract with them.
Manchester United has even unveiled him after he joined them for £4 million from Norwegian club, Lyn. The 19-year-old was even spotted sporting a United shirt in a press conference.
However, somehow, out of nowhere, Chelsea signed him up. The Blues were then taken to court by United, and the case was dragged on for a long time.
In the end, Chelsea were asked to pay £12 million to Manchester United and also the initial £4 million transfer fee to Lyn.
