By Phil McNulty
Chief football writer |
PSV Eindhoven's 20-year-old Dutch international looked Old Trafford bound when Sir Alex Ferguson rolled out the red carpet in typical fashion in January.
Robben was even treated to a tour of the Theatre of Dreams and the palatial Carrington training complex as Ferguson moved to put the long-term successor to Ryan Giggs in place.
But when United's �5m bid amounted to only half of what cash-strapped PSV wanted, Chelsea saw their chance to deliver a deadly blow to their Premiership rivals.
HOW THE DEAL UNFOLDED
Chelsea's hierarchy were unmoved by the player's father insisting he would only move to Stamford Bridge "over his dead body" and pursued their target ruthlessly.
PSV dispatched a representative to lay the foundations for the move - and the deal was clinched when coach Claudio Ranieri and new chief executive Peter Kenyon flew to Eindhoven and visited Robben at his apartment to outline Roman Abramovich's vision.
Jeroen Kapteijns, sports reporter with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, told BBC Sport: "Robben did have his mind set on a move to Manchester United, but when they heard of PSV's financial problems and only offered �5m, PSV said no way.
"Robben's father had said Chelsea was not an option because he felt they did not have a vision for young, talented players, they only bought players.
"But the player himself remained interested and PSV sent agent Ton Smit from Fair Deal Sports Management to see if they were serious about doing a deal.
"PSV had good contacts with Roman Abramovich, Peter Kenyon and Claudio Ranieiri and the deal was done.
"Kenyon and Ranieri then took a plane to Eindhoven to see Robben at his apartment and convinced him about Chelsea's good intentions and their view for young players like him."
WHAT WILL ROBBEN BRING TO THE BLUES?
Experts in Holland believe Ranieri has added another emerging superstar to their portfolio of world-class players.
Kapteijns said: "He is one of the big young talents in Holland. He has got a very good left foot and great dribbling skills."
Robben's left wing role will put him in competition with Damien Duff, but Kapteijns added: "He can play in a variety of positions. He is a left winger first but he can also play as a second central striker, a number 10 as we say in Holland.
"But because he has incredible speed, his best position is as a left-winger. He has worked very hard on his right foot though, and the improvement in that has been amazing, so he is a very good all-round player now and has had a good season for PSV.
"I think he will do very well in Britain because there is a lot of space in the Premiership and teams play attacking football. It is not like in Italy, where the football is defensive and players try to stifle your talent by breaking your ankles."
And he is convinced Robben has the character to survive the pressure and weight of expectation in the Premiership.
He said: "He is a very cool and relaxed character. He is very strong for a young man. He will not do anything stupid and is the type of person to suit England."
As for PSV fans, they have reacted philosophically to another big name departure to the Premiership after losing Jaap Stam and Ruud van Nistelrooy to Manchester United in the past.
Kapteijns added: "They are disappointed of course, but this is a very big transfer like Van Nistelrooy, so they are patient and understand.
"But he is very talented, one of our top talents, and we think he will do well in England."
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If a comparison can be made about Robben it is with Ryan Giggs 