Failing a medical at Liverpool would be a devastating blow for most players but within a few weeks ex-Premier League striker Loic Remy had already turned down Arsenal and signed for Chelsea.
Intent on bringing the Frenchman to Anfield, Liverpool triggered a £8.5m release clause in Remy’s QPR contract in the summer of 2014.
Remy, who had scored 14 goals in 27 games on loan at Newcastle United the previous season, even joined the Liverpool squad on their USA tour but the deal collapsed due to a failed medical.
At the time, QPR boss Harry Redknapp said it was ‘not possible’ that ‘very fit lad’ Remy had failed his medical.
Interest in Remy did not wane despite the fitness concerns and Chelsea quickly swooped for his signature, but not before Arsenal tried to hijack the deal.
Remy says he decided to join the Blues as he thought their interest was more genuine than Arsenal’s and does not regret the decision despite flopping at Stamford Bridge.
Signed for £10.5m in August 2014, Remy only scored 12 goals in 47 games for Chelsea before being sent on loan and ultimately released at the end of his contract.
Remy did, though, help Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea win the double in his first season in west London, albeit as a bit-part squad player featuring behind first-choice striker Diego Costa.
‘Signing for Chelsea was the craziest move of my career, that’s for sure,’ he told Ladbrokes.
‘I can remember being on holiday, back in my home country, on a small island, and my agent gave me a call to tell me that Liverpool wanted to sign me.
‘They were training in Boston for pre-season. That was fantastic news for me, so I asked him about the next steps.
‘My agent told me what I needed to do and where I needed to go, but at the time, I didn’t have my passport on me, so I couldn’t make it to Boston.
‘At the time, my agent was the same as Patrice Evra’s – so Patrice’s brother went to Lyon, my hometown, to get my passport, I then travelled all the way to Paris, and met Patrice’s brother there, he gave me the passport and I flew straight to Boston.
‘We arrived, me and my agent, and it all felt like a dream – it was happening so quickly. I met all the guys, started doing my interviews, and had a medical, but something was wrong.
‘I didn’t know what was wrong, but they said I just needed to wait for a couple of days. At this moment, I was a Liverpool player as far as I was concerned, because I’d done the interviews, and I still have a picture of myself on my phone, holding their scarf!
‘It was a very proud moment for me, but two days later I found out that there was a problem with my medical, and the deal was off – they didn’t want to take the risk, and while I was so disappointed, I accepted it and went back to London, ready to start training with QPR again.
‘And then, Chelsea called my agent and said they wanted to sign me. They asked if I was available, which I was, and so we went to Cobham to do my medical.
‘It’s funny, because just before we signed, my agent had a call from Arsenal, who were asking whether I’d signed or not. “No, no, he’s on his way to sign now. Tell him not to sign – we want him!”
‘My agent told me this, and the market was so close to closing, and so he gave me the choice between Chelsea and Arsenal.
‘In the end, I went with Chelsea because I just thought that Arsenal should have manifested themselves long before the end of the transfer window.
‘I was already at Cobham, ready to sign with Chelsea, had passed my medical, so I decided I wasn’t going to change my mind.
‘A mistake, or not? I don’t think it was; at the end of the day, I won titles with Chelsea, but yes, it was a very complicated move behind the scenes!’
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