After 527 games and 13 trophies, the Brazilian icon’s spectacular Real Madrid career was coming to an end but at 34, many people still believed he had more to offer.
Jose Mourinho, who was then serving as manager at Stamford Bridge, was revealed to be one of them.
Although Ashley Cole, who had arguably surpassed Carlos as the best left-back in the world, was already at the Portuguese’s disposal, Wayne Bridge, his backup, could have been improved.
Carlos, who is 49 years old, has revealed how nearly joining the Blues he was.
Speaking to Goal in 2020, he said: “I had two proposals, Fenerbahce and Chelsea. Chelsea didn’t work out so I signed for Fenerbahce.
“But, with Chelsea, it got very close. It was literally agreed and I just had to go there and sign the contract.
“It was just a week before I signed for Fenerbahce and I had been to Paris to meet both Roman Abramovich and Peter Kenyon.
“Unfortunately, in the final moments something didn’t work out just before finalising, which happens a lot in football. There was an issue with the lawyer.
“It was all agreed, though, and I am 100 per cent sure I would have done well in the Premier League and it would have suited my characteristics.”
Mourinho was fired less than three months later, but Carlos stayed two years in Istanbul before joining Corinthians in Brazil.
Even while the Blues may have sought him at the end of his career, it turns out that they weren’t the first English team to attempt to get him to those shores.
He continued: “I was still playing in Brazil with Palmeiras when Aston Villa came in for me in 1995.
“But they couldn’t afford the deal, after that I went to Inter.”
