Joe Cole has admitted that, if he could go back to the summer of 2010, he’d have left Chelsea for a club in a ‘hot’ climate instead of joining Liverpool.
The former England winger was reflecting on his career on The Obi One Podcast when he talked about how his body began ‘failing’ him towards the end of his time at Stamford Bridge.
He moved to the Reds in the summer that Roy Hodgson replaced Rafael Benitez at Anfield but spent only a season-and-a-half at the club in total, having gone on loan to Lille in the 2011/12 campaign, ending his time on Merseyside with just five goals from 42 appearances (Transfermarkt).
Cole confessed: “I had a choice between Liverpool or Spurs because Arsenal pulled out, and I just couldn’t go to Spurs. I just couldn’t go. It would’ve made sense – Harry Redknapp was the manager, they had a good team, I lived in London, half my pals are Spurs fans, but 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’s a fantastic club, an institution globally. If I could have my time again, I would probably go, ‘No, do you know what, wait.’ I’d have gone abroad, somewhere hot, because playing in the heat actually helped my knee.”
The 42-year-old continued: “If I could have hindsight, I would’ve gone abroad somewhere hot, maybe Spain or southern Italy somewhere, and I think I’d have been able to play at the top level for a little bit longer.”
With respect to Cole, he joined Liverpool at a time of major upheaval, with the club on the brink of administration before New England Sports Ventures (now Fenway Sports Group) rescued us from the hapless ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
Despite his relatively short period at Anfield, the winger played under three different managers for LFC, and such instability didn’t provide the most ideal environment for a player who was already finding it tough to deal with injury problems.
In hindsight, the Reds didn’t get the best version of the England international, although that was understandable given his and the club’s circumstances in 2010.
You can view Cole’s comments below (from 53:13), via The Obi One Podcast on YouTube: