Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has revealed he was denied a move from Chelsea to Barcelona when Louis van Gaal was sacked by the Spanish club in 2003.
The former Atletico Madrid striker was on the brink of a return to La Liga midway through the 2003/04 season, with Chelsea in financial trouble and keen to raise funds by selling their star forward.
"There was a fee agreed. Louis van Gaal was at Barcelona, he wanted me there. He wanted competition for Patrick Kluivert." Hasselbaink said.
"I think the transfer between the clubs was agreed on the Friday. We played Man United (at the weekend). (Claudio) Ranieri asked me 'do you want to play?' Because he already knew. I wanted to play the last game and then move on.
"I got kicked on my ankle by Phil Neville and I had to come off. My ankle was really swollen but it wouldn't have stopped the deal. What happened, Valencia won against Barcelona - I think 3-1 or something - and the next morning Van Gaal was sacked, and the deal was off."
Source: transfermarketweb.com