Millwall goalkeeper David Martin turned down the chance to join Charlton last summer.
Martin trained with the Addicks in pre-season after leaving MK Dons - and a deal looked on the cards.
But an agreement wasn’t reached, and the 31-year-old signed a short-term contract with arch rivals Millwall in September.
Martin, who put pen to paper on a new Lions deal until the end of the season last month, told News Shopper: “It was a bit of a complicated situation at Charlton. My old manager [Karl Robinson] is there.
“It’s something that I’ve not really ever dealt with in football. It felt like there was more going on than I actually knew.
“I don’t really want to go into what I actually think happened because you never know in football. It’s one of those things I’ll take as experience and it’s made me a better goalkeeper for it.
David Martin at the Valley in July | Picture: Benjamin Peters Photography
“They actually offered me a contract. For me, and probably my family at the time, it wasn’t the right thing to do.
“So that’s why I’m so pleased with the manager [Neil Harris] at Millwall, he saw the opportunity to bring me here. Things in football, and definitely in life, work out for a reason.
“I was meant to be here. It happened the way it did at Charlton for one reason or another, and it gave me an opportunity to come here and try to stamp my mark as a goalkeeper at Millwall.”
Jordan Archer has been Millwall’s no.1 this season with Martin pushing for a starting place.
MORE: Harris targets two players after Millwall’s ‘bad luck’ in transfer window
The experienced goalkeeper made his Lions debut last month and featured in their recent FA Cup win over Barnsley.
Martin added: “I’m loving it. Obviously, I want to be playing, but the way the season’s gone, how the team and Jordan have done, I can’t really complain.
“It’s human nature, you want to be out there, you want to be making a difference. But I think it’s fair with the way it’s gone so far.
“I won’t rest on my laurels, I’ll keep pushing Jordan every day and try to get a starting place.”
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