Ex-Leeds United star stands by rival transfer decision and names former Whites man as toughest opponent

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink insists he made the “right choice” joining Chelsea, just one year on from his departure at Leeds United.

The striker arrived at Elland Road for £2m in the summer of 1997 and went on to play 79 times for the club, scoring 35 goals and providing 12 assists.

He scored on his Premier League debut for the Whites but after two years was signed for £10m by Atletico Madrid after turning down an improved contract offer at Elland Road.

Hasselbaink has now revealed in an interview with Parimatch that Chelsea had tried to sign him before he made the move to Spain.

He would join the Stamford Bridge outfit for a then-club record fee of £15m in the summer of 2000, after Atletico were relegated from the Spanish top-flight.

He said: “The year before when I was at Leeds, Chelsea showed some interest in me and I wanted to go, but Leeds didn’t want to sell me to an English club so I decided to go to Atletico instead.

“I was planning to stay in Madrid for four years because I had signed a four-year contract, but when we went down Atletico couldn’t keep me in the second tier.

“So when Chelsea came in for me again and made an offer, I had my heart set on it. I wanted to come back to England and it was a great opportunity to do so with Chelsea, it proved me right, I made the right choice.”

Hasselbaink went on to play 177 times for Chelsea, as he scored 87 goals and provided 24 assists. He was also questioned about the hardest player he came up against in his career.

He revealed: “I didn’t like playing against Rio Ferdinand, he had everything. He was smart, quick, strong - I didn’t like facing him.”