Benatia turned down four clubs before joining Bayern.
New £20.8m Bayern Munich signing Mehdi Benatia has revealed that Chelsea and Manchester City were among a quartet of clubs he rejected in favour of the Bundesliga champions.
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Benatia left AS Roma this summer after just one season due to contract disputes and Barcelona and Real Madrid were also understood to be interested in acquiring the defender’s signature.
“Manchester City and Chelsea wanted me, while there were also approaches from Real Madrid and Barcelona,” the 27-year-old was quoted by Goal.
“I was happy to join Bayern Munich. I like Munich – even if it’s a bit cold here.”
Benatia was in great form for Roma last season and played a key part in the club finishing second in Serie A and therefore returning to the Champions League.
This understandably attracted interest from some of the biggest sides in Europe, with the Blues and City representing the Premier League in the pursuit of the centre-back.
As it was Jose Mourinho chose not to add any more recruits to his central defence and instead looks to give a chance to youngster Kurt Zouma – who was signed from Saint-Etienne in January for £12.5m.
Meanwhile after missing out on Benatia the Citizens instead turned their attention to Eliaquim Mangala and signed the France international from FC Porto for £32m.
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