![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-1223627835.jpg\")
\n\t\tOne former Chelsea player deeply regrets leaving the club to join Liverpool (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tOne former Chelsea player deeply regrets leaving the club to join Liverpool (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n
Joe Cole<\/a> enjoyed a hugely successful seven-year spell at Chelsea<\/a> \u2013 but the former England winger still harbours regret about the manner of his departure and his subsequent move to Liverpool<\/a>.<\/p>\n Having come through the academy at West Ham<\/a> alongside the likes of Rio Ferdinand<\/a> and Frank Lampard<\/a>, Cole was parachuted into the first team at just 17 years of age in 1999.<\/p>\n A versatile midfielder, known for his trickery and dribbling skills, Cole quickly became a mainstay of West Ham\u2019s side, making 150 appearances in all competitions across his first five seasons.<\/p>\n Those displays caught the eye of clubs higher up the food chain, with Cole eventually making the move across London<\/a> to join Chelsea in 2003 for a fee of \u00a36.6\u00a0million.<\/p>\n At Stamford Bridge, the Englishman continued to flourish, helping Chelsea win three Premier League<\/a> titles, two FA Cups and a League Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tGet personalised updates on Chelsea every day\t\t\t<\/p>\n Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro\u2019s Football Newsletter. <\/p>\n Sign up to our newsletter<\/a> and then select your team in the link we\u2019ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.<\/p>\n However, a serious knee injury in the penultimate year of his contract ultimately saw negotiations over a new deal falter, with Cole eventually opting to leave on a free transfer after seven seasons at the club.<\/p>\n Having felt he could not return to West Ham or join Chelsea\u2019s bitter rivals Tottenham, Cole\u00a0accepted an offer from Liverpool, signing a four-year deal in July 2010.<\/p>\n \t\t A red card against Arsenal on debut got his Anfield career off to a bad start, with a combination of injuries and a loan spell in France seeing him make just 42 appearances before returning to West Ham in January 2013.<\/p>\n Reflecting back on his departure from Chelsea earlier this year, Cole admitted that he never wanted to leave and, with hindsight, perhaps should have taken a pay cut to ensure he stayed with the Blues.<\/p>\n The High Performance Podcast<\/a>, Cole: \u2018Looking back now, they never contacted me [about his contract situation during my time out with injury]. Then I got back from the injury, took me 11 months and I had about eight or nine months left on my contract.<\/p>\n \u2018But again, like that little bit of petulance in me, I was like, well, where were you when I was injured? Do you know what I mean? I was like, hold on, let me just, and the negotiations never really got going from that.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018I think there was partly my ego was bruised because I didn\u2019t, I thought to myself, I should have got the contract offer 18 months ago. And then they didn\u2019t offer it to me. So there was a little bit of that going on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Then after about four, five, six months, it goes into the season, I\u2019m starting to think, this might be my last six months. Never really wanted to go. <\/p>\n \u2018But again, you know, if I knew then what I know now, I\u2019d have gone back to the table and taken maybe a cut price because I was happy, you know what I mean?\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tLedley King: ‘Cole was England’s most naturally gifted’\t\t\t<\/p>\n Speaking earlier in the year, former England teammate Ledley King said that Cole was the best of his generation when it came to natural talent.<\/p>\n \u2018In terms of just natural ability, Joe Cole was the best,\u2019 he toldBetMGM<\/p>\n \u2018Joe went to Chelsea and it changed his game. He turned into a very much a team player and it wasn\u2019t the same Joe that I remember when he was 17, who just played the game for fun and on pure instinct.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018I\u2019m sure he\u2019d probably say the same thing if he looks back on all that he\u2019s achieved \u2013 he could have actually been even better than he was.<\/p>\n \u2018[Steven] Gerrard, [Frank] Lampard and [Paul] Scholes were incredible players, don\u2019t get me wrong, but at that age Joe was pure magic.<\/p>\n \u2018He was more natural than Stevie G [Steven Gerrard]. Stevie could do everything, but Joe was just a magician of a player. He was definitely different in that respect from most English players that we had at that time.<\/p>\n \u2018When he was 16 or 17 years old, Joe was different to everyone. He was different from all the English kids, he played like he was Brazilian.\u2019<\/p>\n And while the move to Liverpool made sense at the time, Cole has since conceded that it was a decision he ultimately would not make now.<\/p>\n Asked if he could go back in time, would he still sign for Liverpool, Cole told the Premier League: \u2018At the risk of upsetting Liverpool fans any more than they\u2019re upset with me already, I probably wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u2018But not for any fault of the club or because I didn\u2019t like the club or anything. I signed for the previous owners and then they sold the club four or five weeks later.<\/p>\n \u2018And you know what football clubs are like, it\u2019s hard enough when managers come and go, you can fall out of favour. But when the owners come and go\u2026<\/p>\n \u2018I knew it was only a matter of time before Roy [Hodgson] got the boot, and that\u2019s when my injuries started in the sense that, from my knee injury, I kept picking up muscle injuries, I couldn\u2019t explode as quick as I wanted.<\/p>\n \u2018So right club, wrong time I\u2019d say. If I could have my time again, I would probably go abroad, somewhere hot, because playing in the heat actually helped my knee.\u2019 <\/p>\n For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"Chelsea](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2407006.jpg\")
\n\t\tJoe Cole signed for Chelsea in 2003 (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Chelsea](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-93282908.jpg\")
\n\t\tCole won three Premier League titles at Stamford Bridge (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Euro2008](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-74417754.jpg\")
\n\t\tLedley King sang the praises of Joe Cole (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n
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