Romelu Lukaku admits he was in a "deep hole" at Manchester United before Inter Milan signed him in 2019.
The Belgian spent two years at Old Trafford before heading to Italy.
Lukaku was bought by Jose Mourinho but within 18 months the Special One had been sacked and the striker didn't suit Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's style.
In his final six months in Manchester the Belgian was very much a squad player and made his desire to leave well known.
He was able to rediscover his best form at the San Siro and helped Inter deliver the Serie A title last term.
Lukaku's 64 goals at Inter convinced Chelsea to spend a club-record fee to bring him back to Stamford Bridge.
But the forward wanted to go about his business in the right way in an effort not to burn his bridges at Milan.
"I only realised that Chelsea were serious when they made their third offer,' Lukaku told HLN.
"First they offered €100m (£85m). Then €105m (£90m), €105m plus [Marcos] Alonso. Then they offered €110m (£94.2m) plus [Davide] Zappacosta, but Inter said no.'
"I didn't want to go behind Inter's back. They got me out of the s***. I was in a deep hole at Man United.
"After training I went to [Simone] Inzaghi's office. I didn't want to ruin the atmosphere because I was no longer with my head in Milan. So I asked him: please find an agreement.'"
Despite Lukaku looking to find an agreement without downing tools he still faced the wrath of the Inter fans.
Ultra group Curva Nord had written a message to him on Facebook that read: "Dear Lukaku, we expected more honest and transparent behaviour from you.
"But, despite the fact we protected you like a son, like one of us, you too proved yourself to be just like all the rest, going to your knees for money. We wish you the best, even if greed doesn't always pay."
Lukaku has admitted that leaving England for Italy allowed him to further himself as a player.
He said: "I loved every minute of it (the Premier League ) on and off the field, but the experiences in Italy made me more complete as a player."
He has begun life at Chelsea impressively, scoring after 15 minutes on his debut at Arsenal.
Lukaku then helped the Blues battle to a point with ten men at title rivals Anfield last time out.
