Former England international Cole joined the Reds in the summer of 2010, leaving Chelsea when his contract ended.
Despite interest from Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool won the race to sign him on a free transfer, making him one of Roy Hodgson’s first signings. However, alongside Milan Jovanovic and Danny Wilson, who also failed to impress, Cole’s time at Liverpool was not successful. Cole made just 42 appearances, scoring five goals and providing four assists.
After falling out of favour under Sir Kenny Dalglish, he was loaned to Lille following a disappointing first season but returned under Brendan Rodgers. Within six months of Rodgers’ arrival however, Cole had been allowed to return to West Ham on a free transfer – despite still having 18 months left on his Anfield deal.
Now Cole has revealed that he would have preferred to stay at Chelsea, but after realising his performance had declined following a serious knee injury – suffered at Southend in 2009 – he thought it best to leave Stamford Bridge for Liverpool.
“(Contract) negotiations started and we were getting there, but then I done my knee,” he shared on John Obi Mikel’s ‘The Obi One’ podcast. “I was nearly 29 or just turned 29 (when I left). I done my knee and that was probably the start of the end of my career because I was never the same player after that. I done everything, ACL, PCL, MCL, and I was out for 11 months.
“It hurt me but in hindsight, Chelsea were right, from a business perspective. They stopped the negotiations to see how I was when I came back… so from being in a really strong position to negotiate a contract, doing my knee, Chelsea pulled back from negotiations. 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.
“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.
“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…”
He added: “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.”
“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.”
Talking about his switch to Liverpool, Cole shared why he made the decision to join Anfield. Yet, looking back, he wishes he had chosen to play overseas.
“I had a choice between Liverpool or Spurs because Arsenal pulled out and I just couldn’t go to Spurs,” he confessed. “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.”
He also mentioned his time at Liverpool: “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.
