Mendy would have rejected Chelsea if City had not come in

Benjamin Mendy would not have joined Chelsea even if Manchester City did not sign him this summer.

Mendy joined City for £52million in July, making him the most expensive defender in world football.

The left-back had been linked with Chelsea in the weeks beforehand, but the Premier League champions missed out on his signature.

According to Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev, the France international would have rejected the chance to join the Blues.

“Bernardo Silva and [Tiemoue] Bakayoko, it was done [their moves to City and Chelsea],” Vasilyev told French newspaper L’Equipe.

“The third possible exit was Mendy which we had long resisted.

“And then, given the offers we had for him and his willingness to leave, we wondered if he would be able to repeat the same season. It was complex.

“At first, I said, ‘No, you’re staying.

“He replied, ‘But Vadim, I really want to go to City with [Pep] Guardiola.’

“Several times he said to me, ‘If it was Chelsea, I would stay, but this is Guardiola, I want to go there.’

“He was frank with me. So when City put that price, when it became the most expensive defender in the world, I had no more arguments to oppose it.

“We weighed the pros and cons and we told him.”