Chelsea: Pedro holds no grudges against Jose Mourinho over their Barcelona/Real Madrid conflicts

Pedro has admitted that Jose Mourinho told him what he "needed to hear" to convince him to join Chelsea, but has denied he has been promised a starting role at Stamford Bridge. The Spain international also admitted that many in his home country will never understand his desire to play under the Portuguese boss as Barcelona fans will never forgive Mourinho's actions during his time at Real Madrid.

The winger ended his long and fruitful spell at the Nou Camp during the summer transfer window after the Blues triggered his £22m ($33.9m) release clause. Having been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United, reports in Spain suggested his decision to move to London was motivated by a promise given by Mourinho that he would see guaranteed first team football.

But speaking to El Pais, he said that there was no guaranteed offer from Mourinho, and that the Chelsea boss just made him feel "important".

"No footballer in the world believes that he is going to play every game. I'm not stupid. Mourinho didn't promise me [to be a starter] because a manager can't promise you something like that," he said.

"We had a good talk, he explained the situation of his team, what he expected of me and I heard what I needed to hear, that I was going to be important and that with me the team would grow. It gave me confidence. The possibility of living in London was also a privilege. Although I'm having a hard time finding a house. I hope next week I will have it resolved."

Pedro confirmed that the reason he left Barcelona was to receive playing time. He also hinted he opted to join Chelsea over Manchester United as they showed more determination to secure his signature.

"It would have been easy to stay at Barca, appear in the team photo, keep winning titles and earning money. I had a good life, but I felt I should leave. My life was comfortable off the pitch, but I wanted to keep playing. Let's see how it works out," he said. "[I chose] Chelsea because they were the club who showed more interest in signing me."

Pedro and the Barcelona squad had a very tense relationship with Mourinho during his time in La Liga. But the winger suggested that they has put those personal issues behind them. When asked about Barca fans who criticised his desire to play under Mourinho, he said: "Yes, the past is there and there are people who don't forgive what happened but athletes have a different way of valuing things.

"For the intensity of workouts, they [Pep Guardiola and Mourinho] are similar. In this sense they have similarities, they do not allow the intensity level to be lowered for one minute. But they are different in other things. I like how Mourinho works. I feel comfortable with him. He has a positive and winning mentality. I am delighted because I like nothing more than winning. The truth is that one has an image of him, which when you know him changes a lot. It is not what it seems."