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The man who convinced Chelsea star Eden Hazard to reject Man Utd transfer revealed
JOE COLE says it was he who convinced Eden Hazard to join Chelsea and not Manchester United.
Cole was on loan at Lille from Liverpool, who Hazard was starring for, when the winger became the centre of a transfer battle in 2012.
Manchester United were keen, Manchester City were showing interest while Chelsea had lodged their own bid.
The Blues put a £32million offer on the table and Cole was keen to ensure that was the one he chose.
BT Sport host Jake Humphrey asked Cole on the Premier League Tonight show: "What was your secret to convincing Eden Hazard to become a Blue?
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We just had chats about where to go as all the big teams wanted him
"I don't think you get enough credit for this. He's effectively here because of you."
Cole admitted he was right and joked: "Well, I've seen no money for it, I'm not going to lie. I've seen no money from the club!"
The former winger then went on to explain how the Stamford Bridge switch came about.
"It was at the time we were playing together at Lille and Man United were courting him, Man City were courting him," he said.
"We just had chats about where to go as all the big teams wanted him.
"I said 'listen, have you thought about Chelsea if they're interested?' He intimated they was and I said 'I think they are for you, you'll settle in London as it's cosmopolitan.'
"And I said 'listen, if you ever get homesick you can get back in Brussels in five minutes'.
"I think all of that came into it and he fell in love with the club, fell in love with London, and I think his family are very settled and he's very happy."