Former England midfielder Joe Cole, who emerged as an attacking midfielder at West Ham with his small stature and high-level technique, was signed by Chelsea after the Russian money reached out to him.
He scored 39 goals and assisted 45 times in 281 games for Stamford Bridge, and although not a legendary performance, he contributed to numerous titles as a member of the team. In 2010, his contract with Chelsea expired, and he chose Liverpool as his new club.
In his first game at Anfield, he received a red card and was sent off. After a year, he was deemed out of the squad and sent out on loan to French club Lille. The player revealed the behind-the-scenes story of his 2010 move, saying that Tottenham Hotspur was one of the options.
“I had a choice between Liverpool or Spurs because Arsenal pulled out and I just couldn’t go to Spurs. I just couldn’t.”
“It would have made sense, Harry Redknapp was the manager, I lived in London, they had a good team, 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 great club, an institution globally and if I could have my time again, I would go, no wait.”
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In the winter of 2013, he moved from Liverpool to his old club West Ham, but failed to impress, and the following summer he joined Aston Villa. During this period, the former England midfielder frequently suffered hamstring injuries and was forced to come off the bench.
However, when he joined the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2016, a different world awaited him. Playing in a warmer climate, he was less plagued by injuries. Because of that experience, he has said that if he could go back to those days, he would choose to play in Southern Europe.
“Then when I went to America, it was like a miracle, living in the sun. If I could have hindsight I would have gone abroad somewhere hot, maybe Spain or Italy, and I could have played at the top level for a little bit longer.”
“And I’d have gone abroad, somewhere hot, because playing in the heat actually helped my knee.”
“Because after that I went to Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham and had a good season in France, but I was just managing my injuries. Playing well sometimes but I wasn’t the same.”
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