Edin Dzeko admits he is ‘happy’ not to have moved to Chelsea in January

Edin Dzeko has admitted that he is ‘happy’ he stayed at Roma and didn’t move to Chelsea when there was a chance in January.

Dzeko scored in Roma’s 3-0 Champions League quarter-final second leg victory over Barcelona on Tuesday night.

It brought the score level on aggregate at 4-4 and was enough for Roma to progress to the semi-finals on away goals.

Dzeko said he was relieved that he stayed at Roma now they are close to reaching the final of Europe’s premier domestic competition.

‘Now I can play the semi-final too!’ Dzeko told Mediaset Premium. ‘It wasn’t easy, but I stayed here and am very happy to be here. I think the club is glad too!’

Chelsea were understood to have offered the 32-year-old more money but he said he wasn’t interested.

Dzeko admitted after the game that he was glad that he stayed in Italy playing for Roma

He added: ‘Let’s not talk about it. Money doesn’t matter.’ Dzeko believes that the result over Barcelona will give him and his team-mates confidence going forward.

He said: ‘This was the best, but even better may well be yet to come. It proved we can play against anyone, as Barcelona are such a strong side. We put three goals past them and could’ve had more.

‘I have never seen Barcelona struggle so much. We pressed them constantly from the first minute.’

Asked how far he thought Roma could go in this season’s Champions League, he said: ‘I hope to the Final! Nobody believed in us and we have reached the semi-final for the first time in the Champions League. I am very happy that I can watch the draw for the semi-finals and see my Roma there.’

The Bosnian striker scored Roma’s first goal of Tuesday evening against Barcelona