ROBBEN THANKS BLUES FANS

Arjen Robben has spoken to the Chelsea fans for the first time since leaving the club in August.

Robben, who's still in contact with most of the players at Chelsea, said his highlights from his three years at the club were winning all the trophies that are available in England and that it was difficult not being able to say farewell to his team mates and fans in person.

'I have some contact with the players, but for me it was difficult to leave because I had a great time in my three great years at Chelsea and I think I made a lot of friend's as well,' said Robben who was speaking exclusively to Chelsea TV.

'It was difficult because there was no time to say goodbye, because the deal was closed on the Wednesday at ten o'clock in the evening and the following morning I had to fly so there was no time to say goodbye, I only spoke to them on the phone.'

'If I have time I would want to come back and say goodbye,' said Robben, 'to the supporters as well but I don't know if I'll have a chance because at Chelsea the programme is as busy as it is here, we play a lot of games at the weekend and mid-week as well.

'So if I have one day off I would want to come back and say goodbye to everybody because I think it is important. To the fans I owe a big thank you because they were always good to me, I always had great support off them and I had a good relationship with them as well,' he added.

'In my three years I won all the prizes there are to win in England. The FA Cup we won in the end, the Carling Cup twice, the League twice, the Community Shield, so for me that was the highlights,' said Robben.

'But of course for me I was unfortunate with injuries and I didn't have as much impact as I wanted to but that's life,' he added.

Although he's still waiting for the chance to play in his debut, Robben believes he has recovered strength since his knee surgery last season and is looking forward to playing for Real Madrid.

'Things are good, they gave me a bit of time to adapt to everything and become strong because I was still struggling from my surgery last year, so my preseason was not the best but they gave me a bit of time,' he said. 'At the moment I feel very good and hopefully I can make my debut soon.'

Robben left a message for Blues fans to express his gratitude for making his Chelsea career so enjoyable.

'I want to thank them for all the great support they gave me, it must have been frustrating for them to see me injured so many times. But every time I came back I always got a great reception and a warm welcome, so I want to thank them very much and I really enjoyed playing in front of them every time.'