Wolfsburg winger Kevin De Bruyne has blamed his small price tag for failing to make it at Chelsea.
The Belgian international made only three Premier League appearances for the Blues following his £6.7m move from Racing Genk in January 2012.
He left for Wolfsburg two years later and has since become one of the most prolific attacking midfielders in Europe, with his 11 goals this season helping his club chase Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.
De Bruyne is confident that Chelsea could have seen this form up close had he been afforded more opportunities, and feels that this may have been the case had he been one of the club's big-money purchases.
"Maybe things would have been different if Chelsea had to pay €45m (£32m) and not €8m (£6.7m) when I arrived from Racing Genk," De Bruyne told Sport Bild.
"A higher transfer fee would have potentially handed me a different sort of status inside the club. And possibly, handed me more chances [to play more regularly]."
He added: "Chelsea FC has not been the best choice at that point in time. Being with Chelsea is like being in a different world. Manager Jose Mourinho did not explain to me why I was not playing more regularly for the club."
De Bruyne's emergence at Wolfsburg has apparently led to interest from English champions Manchester City.
Joe Fish
