Pedro - Manchester United DID try to sign me - but London, Mourinho and Fabregas made me a Blue

                              
New Chelsea signing Pedro Rodriguez has confirmed both Manchester United and Manchester City were in the running to sign him from Barcelona, but revealed he chose Chelsea because they were "the team that showed the most interest" in him.

The Spain international joined Jose Mourinho's side for £21million last week, making an instant impact with a goal and and an assist on his debut against West Brom on Sunday afternoon.

• Catalan press have been disappointed that he has decided to link up with Mourinho

On Monday, though, he was back in Barcelona to say goodbye to the club he scored 99 goals for in 321 appearances before making the difficult decision to move to the Premier League.

"I was very flattered by the interest from some of England's biggest clubs, like United and City, but Chelsea were the team that could resolve the situation the quickest and who showed the most interest in me."  he said in a press conference which was attended by all of Barcelona's first team squad and his former manager Luis Enrique.

• Pedro's former teammates at Barca were at the press conference

He has no regrets about leaving Nou Camp for Stamford Bridge — although he did say he'd rather not meet his old employers in the Champions League — and he's now looking forward to playing regular football once again.

"There was an option to stay [at Barça], that is what the club wanted," he continued. "I discussed it with everyone, but the Chelsea offer attracted me, although it felt a little strange wearing the Blue shirt at first!

"I'm lucky enough to know some of the players, like Cesc [Fabregas] from Barça, but also from the national team, Diego [Costa].

"I can already see there is a winning mentality at the club — John Terry is a great captain, he has a really strong mentality — and the reception I have had has been incredible. I've felt really comfortable from the first moment."

• Pedro scored in his debut game for Chelsea as they won 3 - 2 at West Brom

The 28-year-old also explained the pull of the Premier League's "great atmosphere, full stadiums and end-to-end football" played a part in his decision to call time on a decade in blaugrana.

Some sections of the Catalan press have been disappointed that he has decided to link up with Mourinho, who doesn't have a great relationship with Barcelona due to his menacing time as Real Madrid boss.

Pedro, though, explained his reasoning behind ignoring the Chelsea manager's troubled recent history with Barça.

Source: Mirror UK