Spain international Joaquin has revealed that he turned down an 'incredible' offer from Chelsea when he was still with Real Betis.

The highly-rated winger was strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge but elected to stay in Spain, joining Valencia for 25million euros in August last year.

Joaquin has now admitted that he held talks with former Blues boss Jose Mourinho and club owner Roman Abramovich, with a staggering transfer fee of 42million euros on the table.

But the gifted 26-year-old turned down the chance to move to the Premier League.

Joaquin told Spanish daily AS: "I rejected an enormous deal with Chelsea when I was still with Betis.

"After a meeting with Mourinho and Abramovich the offer was 42million euros.

"It was so incredible, but I studied the situation and decided to reject their offer. I want to be happy and because of this I decided to move to Valencia.

"I may not have received the money but my life is better than in London, I am convinced.

"I do not have any regrets about this decision. In football, money is not always the key."

And Joaquin has thrown his support behind Valencia boss Ronald Koeman, who has endured mixed fortunes since taking over from Quique Sanchez Flores in November.

The Mestella outfit have crashed out of the UEFA Champions League after losing home and away to Rosenborg, and are currently sixth in La Liga, eight points behind leaders Real Madrid.

He added: "We are suffering a bad series of results but we are a team able to overcome the situation."

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