The 28-year-old moved to Madrid from Deportivo in 2010 after making more than 100 league appearances for the Coruna club. He is now part of an Atletico side that is taking La Liga by storm under Diego Simeone, after an historic success over arch rivals Real Madrid in May to lift the Copa del Rey.
However, the Brazilian could have been plying his trade at Stamford Bridge instead, after admitting the Blues were keen on securing his services in summer 2009.
Speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo, Filipe Luis said: "I’ve had many offers from the Premier League, especially when I was at Deportivo. I had to say no to Chelsea because I was negotiating with Barcelona and they were my priority alongside Atletico. Chelsea went on to buy a £15 million player, Yuri Zhirkov I think."
Luis' decision is paying off; the Vicente Calderon side have made a stunning start to 2013/14, winning 11 of their opening 12 La Liga games.
The Brazilian international has no plans to move away from Madrid anytime soon, but the former Figueirense defender does "dream" of ending his career at Ajax, where he spent the 2004/05 season on loan after leaving his homeland.
"I’m very happy at Atletico and I want to honour the contract I have until 2017," he said. "By then, I’ll be 31, it’s difficult to find a good team at such an age, although I don’t discard moving to the Italian league.
"But my dream is to retire at Ajax. I feel like I’m in debt with them because they’ve given me everything and I gave nothing back. I’d like to have this chance, I’ll be older, mature. It’s a dream for me."
ALSO ONLINE Exclusive interview with Filipe Luis
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