Aleksandr Golovin has said he rejected a move to Chelsea because he did not think he would get in the team.
The 23-year-old Russia international midfielder joined Monaco from CSKA Moscow in the summer of 2018 but was also attracting interest from the Blues and Italian Giants Juventus.
Golovin was one of the stars of the Russian national team which reached the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup finals in his homeland.
But he said moving to England would have presented challenges both on and off the pitch.
“I thought it would be hard for me now in a team like Chelsea or Juventus,” Golovin told Match TV, as reported by The Sun.
“For me it’s the grandees of football. Probably, if I were a football player from Europe, the transition would have been easier.
“And, since I am from Russia, in a big club the situation would be complicated by the lack of knowledge of the language.”
Golovin, who moved to Monaco on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee believed to be in excess of £27m, scored four goals in 34 appearances in all competitions last season.
Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich was said to be keen for the player to move to Stamford Bridge.