Hatem Ben Arfa completed a deal to sign for Paris Saint-Germain on Friday, but has revealed he was 10 minutes away from joining Sevilla.
PSG confirmed the capture of the former Newcastle United, Marseille and Lyon playmaker on a two-year-deal after a superb season with Ligue 1 rivals Nice in which he found the net 18 times in all competitions.
Sevilla had been among the other teams linked with a move for the France international, who missed out on a place in Didier Deschamps' squad for Euro 2016.
Instead, Ben Arfa will play under Unai Emery - who left Sevilla to take over from Laurent Blanc as PSG coach - at the Parc des Princes.
But the 29-year-old told PSG TV: "I was about 10 minutes away from signing for Sevilla. Just before I was meant to sign in Spain, Paris Saint-Germain called me and told me to wait, to think about it and they told me they really wanted me.
"It was really last-minute stuff. I was meant to go to Sevilla, I was just about to sign... and here I am at Paris Saint-Germain. It's destiny, it was written."
Ben Arfa has not won a major trophy since doing a Ligue 1 and Coupe de la Ligue double with Marseille in 2010.
But he is naturally hopeful of changing that at PSG, who head into the new campaign on the back of successive domestic trebles.
"I have supported Paris Saint-Germain since I was young. Ever since I was a little boy, they have been my club. I have always supported them," he added.
"It's a club with a lot of ambition and everyone wants to be a part of the project. I'm really very happy to be able to help the club reach its objectives. These are all factors in why I signed here.
"My aims, first and foremost, are for the team. I want to try and do what I can to help the team, on and off the pitch. But the most important thing is that the club wins trophies."
