‘I was disappointed…’: Former Chelsea man reveals how Roman blocked his Spurs move

Former Chelsea striker Carlton Cole has now revealed that he had the opportunity to join Tottenham Hotspur in 2006.

However, former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich blocked a move to the North London club and asked him to sign for CSKA Moscow instead.

Cole has revealed that he was struggling for regular game time with the Blues and he wanted to move to Tottenham at the time in search of regular playing time.

Abramovich’s decision to block his exit left the striker disappointed, and he felt that he could have been a key player for Tottenham back then. The former Chelsea owner did not want to deal with Tottenham because of the rivalry between the two clubs, and that came as a blow for Cole.

“After 2005/06, I knew I had to crack on somewhere else to get more games,” Cole revealed to FourFourTwo. “Spurs came in for me as Martin Jol was really fond of me. I went to Spurs’ training ground, met everyone and did my medical. 

“Roman said to me, through his translator, ‘Well, you’re not going to Spurs. I don’t do business with them. So, get that out of your head.’

“I sulked like a teenager for weeks, even though I was 23 at the time. I was disappointed, because I felt I could’ve made a difference in that Tottenham team.”

Carlton Cole was a fringe player at Chelsea

Cole never really managed to secure regular game time at Chelsea, especially with Didier Drogba ahead of him in the pecking order under Jose Mourinho.

The striker was 23 at the time and he needed to play regularly in order to continue his development. Cole spent a total of four seasons at Chelsea and he scored a total of eight goals in 31 appearances across all competitions. He failed to win a single trophy with the Blues as well.

The striker eventually made his mark in the Premier League with West Ham United, where he spent nine seasons.