Danny Drinkwater reveals regret over ‘garbage’ Chelsea transfer as he recalls incident that ‘disappointed me massively’
DANNY DRINKWATER has revealed his regret over his “garbage” Chelsea transfer.
And he admits one incident at Stamford Bridge left him “massively disappointed.”
Drinkwater, 33, announced his retirement from football today after spending the last year without a club.
The Leicester City title winner was most recently at Chelsea, where he clocked up just 12 league appearances in five years.
The Blues paid £35million to sign him from the King Power Stadium in 2017.
Drinkwater’s first season saw him feature 22 times in all competitions after struggling with injuries.
But he never played for the Blues again, instead spending time on loan at clubs like Burnley and Aston Villa.
Drinkwater has now opened up over his Stamford Bridge switch, admitting his time spent at Chelsea was “garbage.”
Although he was keen on making an impact in London, Drinkwater told the High Performance Podcast that one particular incident at the end of the his first season made it clear he’d joined the wrong club.
The three-time England international said: “The finances were great but it was always about getting that top four club, regular Champions League…
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“As a whole, (the move was) garbage but I had some good times there.
“I had never met Conte before, I thought he was a genius, tactically better than anything else I’ve seen.
“The first season was tricky with injuries, but at the end of the season there was this one moment that disappointed me massively.
“I can’t say too much about it but hopefully in the future…
“That summer, after that, I was like ‘I need to go, this isn’t for me, ‘it hasn’t really worked and then this has happened so I could really do with going’.
“I’d bought a big house to move all my family down, give a good go at it and i was ready to forget about it and go where I needed to.
“I was trying to leave that first window. I can’t say too much but it was to do with the club.
“My agent said ‘they’re not letting you go, they’re getting another manager in’.
“I think (people would understand my decline if they knew), it would make more sense.
“You can see the impact it had, I didn’t play a single minute the next season.
“I got stuck into London life, partying way more than usual. My focus wasn’t on football for the first time.”