Joe Cole has admitted that if he could go back in time, he would not have joined Liverpool. The only reason he quit Chelsea was because he thought his playing days were over.
In January 2009, the 42-year-old had a serious knee injury in an FA Cup match against Southend United, which he views as a turning point in his career.
Even though he had always supported Chelsea, he left the team when his contract expired eighteen months later.
As one of Roy Hodgson’s first signings, the midfield player was acquired by Liverpool on a Bosman transfer when they outbid Tottenham Hotspur for him.
But he was far from successful during his time at the club; Danny Wilson and Milan Jovanovic also did not make an impression. Cole made just 42 appearances while with the Reds, tallying five goals and dishing out four assists.
He was loaned to Lille after a poor debut season under Sir Kenny Dalglish, but he was brought back under Brendan Rodgers.
He had another 18 months left on his contract, however despite this, he was permitted to sign with West Ham United on a free transfer just six months later, in January 2013.
Cole acknowledges that staying at Chelsea is what he would have chosen. But he felt it was better to quit Stamford Bridge and head to Liverpool after realizing that he was not the same player after the injury.
On his podcast, “The Obi One,” former teammate John Obi Mikel shared a candid and poignant story about how, “(Contract) negotiations started and we were getting there, but then I done my knee.” “I was nearly 29 or just turned 29 (when I left).”
“I was never the same player after I injured my knee, and that was likely the beginning of the end of my career.
I completed all the requirements—ACL, PCL, MCL—and missed 11 months of work.” He continued by explaining how his contract negotiations were severely impacted by this ailment. “It upset me, but from a business standpoint, Chelsea was correct in retrospect.
Chelsea withdrew from talks despite being in a strong position to negotiate a contract and doing my knee surgery because they halted the talks to check on me when I returned.”
Returning to play under Carlo Ancelotti in October highlighted further difficulties, “Then I come back in October time.
By this time, Carlo (Ancelotti) had come into the club… I was coming in off the bench, playing well, but it was hard to break back into the team.”
His hopes rose with the Africa Cup of Nations, “The guys went away to the Africa Cup of Nations in the January. I knew I’d have a chance to play regularly.
I played every game, six, seven or eight games in a row, played really well and then they started, ‘We can offer you this new contract.’ It wasn’t at what it was before.”
Sadly, his own physical state thwarted his ambitions, “My ego got involved a little bit and football was more of a struggle. I would play, knee would blow up.
I couldn’t do certain things that I used to be able to do. I needed an ice pack (after every game on my knee), I was in a lot of pain… it’s very rare you get back to where you were.
“And then they stopped the negotiations. But Carlo actually wanted me to stay. I believe Carlo because he’s a good, decent human. He said, ‘I want to play you but Kalou and Malouda are playing so well.’
I’m sensible enough to know that they’re playing well. I don’t knock on the manager’s door if they’re not. But I was playing well when I played as well, that’s why we won the double. Everyone was doing their bit..”
As he recalled further, “It got to the end of the season… my body was just failing me… it was a title-decider up at Old Trafford and I started. We had to win the game, we couldn’t draw otherwise we’d lose the league, and I pulled my back right in the last two minutes (of training)..”
“I scored… We won the game but I don’t think I could train for three or four days afterwards. I really wrecked myself. That’s how my body was after it.”
He shared, “Something subconsciously clicked and I thought to myself, ‘I’m never going to get (back) to the player I was. I’ve got to leave.’ Because I don’t want to finish my Chelsea career, just sitting there on the injury table.”
Pondering his switch to Liverpool, Cole divulged why he ultimately opted for Anfield. Yet looking back, he confessed he wished he had moved overseas instead.
“I had a choice between Liverpool or Spurs because Arsenal pulled out and I just couldn’t go to Spurs,” he admitted. “I just couldn’t go.
“It would have made sense, Harry Redknapp was the manager, they had a good team, I lived in London, half my pals are Spurs fans. I just couldn’t do it.
“My daughter was just born and Liverpool is a great club. It didn’t work for me there but it is a fantastic club, an institution globally.
But if I could have my time again, I would probably go, ‘No, you know what, wait.’ And I’d have gone abroad, somewhere hot, because playing in the heat actually helped my knee.
“Because after that I went to Liverpool, West Ham, Villa. I had a good season in France, but with my knee, I was just managing my injuries. Managing to still play, play well sometimes but never really consistently like I had been. I never played for England again after 2010.
“Then when I went to America, it was like a miracle. Living in the sun, my knee was like 60-70%. It’s still not right now but I could still play. It was like a miracle.
“If I could have hindsight, I would have gone abroad somewhere hot, maybe Spain or Southern Italy somewhere, and I think I could have played at the top level for a little bit longer.”
He added: “Ultimately, I wasn’t the same player after that knee injury. That’s sad but I had a long career..”
“The only regret I have, and it’s nothing I could do anything about, I think to myself, if I hadn’t done my knee at Southend, and I could have had another five, six or seven years at Chelsea, I think I would have won the Champions League with the lads in 2012.
“But there’s nothing you can do about it. I started playing professional football in the Premier League at 17, and got smashed to bits. By the time I was 29, I was just an old car and the fan belt had run out! The knee was gone, I was a Ford Cortina by the end! “.
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