Pedro: Chelsea more decisive than United

Pedro insists his decision to turn down Manchester United and sign for Chelsea last month had nothing to do with not wanting to work under Louis van Gaal.

The Spanish forward has denied reports that suggested he did not want to play for Van Gaal because of the Manchester United manager’s difficult relationship with former Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes and Spain international David de Gea.

Valdes joined United in January but has barely featured for the first team while De Gea has not played for the Red Devils since July 29 after being heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.

“It’s true I don’t like that treatment for my colleagues, especially for Victor, who has been a reference as a team-mate and as a professional,” Pedro said . “I don’t believe it’s fair but it didn’t influence my decision.

“I just saw that Manchester didn’t take that move forward, that they were taking too long. Chelsea were more decisive.”

Pedro did speak at length with former Barca team-mate Valdes before deciding to join Chelsea last month. “Yes, a lot,” he said. “He told me that United was very good and there was a great fan following, that his only problem was the situation with the coach.” When asked if Valdes recommended he not sign for United because of Van Gaal, Pedro said: “Absolutely not.

Pedro moved to Chelsea on a £21.1m (€28.9m) transfer from Barca and has signed a contract until June 2019.