Former Russia and CSKA Moscow star, Alan Dzagoev has admitted he regrets turning down an opportunity to play for Chelsea during his younger years.

The 33-year-old midfielder retired from football this week, and during a chat with the Nobel Youtube channel, he said if he could change anything about his career, it would be deciding not to accept Roman Abramovich’s offer to join Chelsea about a decade ago.

He said: “How would I fix my career? Well, probably the moment when there was an option to leave for Chelsea, I had to leave.

“It was… all I had to say was ‘yes’.

“(Yuri) Zhirkov called and said that Roman Abramovich was asking if I wanted to go to Chelsea. The conditions were such that I train with the main team and only play in cup matches. I wasn’t ready for that then…

“I wasn’t afraid to play, I was afraid of everyday life. I consulted with my father and mother. They said that I would still have time. And then, when I was ready, after 2012, there were no real proposals, which is strange, in my opinion.

“If I could turn back time now, then I would go to Chelsea, of course, 100 percent.”

Sadly, Dzagoev’s only shot at playing for a big football club was back when Chelsea came calling, but he turned it down. After leaving CSKA Moscow, he only played for Rubin Kazan and Greek club, Lamia before his retirement this week.