Before the remarkable rise of Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United held sway in the Premier League for most of the 2000s and 2010s.

Both clubs regularly clashed for prestige and silverware in multiple competitions, including the UEFA Champions League final of 2008.

Their standings as two of England's biggest clubs ensured that they were usually at the forefront of battles to sign some of Europe's finest players.

Chelsea have beaten the Red Devils to a number of players over the years, and here is a list of six players who chose to move to Stamford Bridge over Old Trafford.

Six stars who chose to sign for Chelsea over Manchester United

For reasons best known to them, here are some players who decided to play for Chelsea rather than join Manchester United.

John Obi Mikel (2003-2006)

One of the greatest transfer sagas in European football history, Chelsea and Manchester United needed the intervention of FIFA to determine which club owned the rights to midfielder John Obi Mikel.

The Nigerian caught the eye at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2003 and subsequently spent time on trial at Chelsea, but was unable to sign for the Blues due to his age.

The club went on to arrange for him to train with South African side Ajax Cape Town in order to retain control of his services, and arranged for him to join Norwegian outfit Lyn Oslo.

Manchester United swooped in to sign him after he impressed during a trial with them, agreeing a deal directly with Lyn and sidelining his agents, unveiling him as their number 21.

Chelsea moved swiftly against Lyn, pointing out that they already had a pre-contract agreement with them.

The case dragged on until FIFA intervened, and the Blues paid a total of £16 million to sign the young midfielder, who then spent 11 years at Stamford Bridge.

Arjen Robben (2004)

Iconic Dutch winger Arjen Robben joined Chelsea from PSV Eindhoven in 2004, but could have quite easily signed for Manchester United.

Robben's exploits in the Dutch top-flight caught the attention of United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who held direct talks with the Dutchman and even invited him to the club's facilities for a tour.

He was impressed with what he was shown and was promised a starring role at Old Trafford, only for the club to submit a low-ball €8 million offer, opening the door to a hijack.

Claudio Ranieri and Chelsea swooped in and convince him to move to London, instead, and he joined the Blues in that summer for €21 million.

Didier Drogba (2004)

Along with the appointment of Jose Mourinho, Roman Abramovich was prepared to spend heavily to bring the best players to Chelsea in the summer of 2004, and that was how they ended up with Didier Drogba at the club.

The Ivorian striker had lit up the French top-flight in the colours of Olympique Marseille, prompting Mourinho to notice him while he was in charge of FC Porto.

The Portuguese tactician was not the only one to notice him, as Sir Alex Ferguson also wanted to bring him to Manchester United in the summer of 2004.

Marseille slapped a £25 million price tag on their prized asset, a price that caused the Red Devils to baulk and stall while Chelsea made a decisive offer to sign the ultimate big game player. He would go on to lead the club to a first Champions League title eight years down the line.

Eden Hazard (2012)

Eden Hazard's is a story of how one game can change a player's trajectory, as the 2012 UEFA Champions League final changed his.

The Belgian had torn up the French Ligue 1 for years, and by 21 years old, had clearly grown bigger than the opposition he was facing on a weekly basis in France.

He was pursued by a number of Premier League sides, including Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, and Chelsea's dwindling form in the 2011-12 season meant they were not even an option for him.

Their Champions League victory over Bayern Munich changed everything, as it guaranteed qualification for the 2012-13 edition of the competition and made the club to submit an offer for the mercurial Belgian.

He broke football Twitter with his announcement back then after the Champions League final, tweeting directly that he was going to join the Champions of Europe.

Pedro (2015)

In 2015, Spanish winger Pedro made the decision to leave boyhood club Barcelona and Manchester United made a move to sign him, but did not manage to convince him to join them.

Fresh off a league-winning season, Chelsea made a move for the Spaniard, who confirmed himself that the Red Devils had tried to sign him.

He went on to star for the Blues, explaining that they moved quickest and showed the greatest interest in him.

Alvaro Morata (2017)

Spain international Alvaro Morata grew disillusioned with life at Real Madrid, where he was utilised solely as back-up to Karim Benzema despite his obvious development into a top-level striker.

He pursued a move away from the Bernabeu, and Manchester United came calling in the summer of 2017.

The striker also had an approach from Chelsea, who were looking to replace Diego Costa, and he spoke directly to then-manager Antonio Conte, who explained things to him clearly.

Morata's mind was made up after his conversation with Conte, and he decided to move to Chelsea while Manchester United picked up Romelu Lukaku.