Former Chelsea star criticises his 'unnatural' role at the club, admits he 'wasn't happy'

A former Chelsea star has spoken out about the unnatural role he was asked to play at the club.

Over the years, Cheslea have produced some of the biggest young talents in European football.

However, a large number of those highly-rated youngsters were unable to nail down a starting spot at Stamford Bridge.

Eventually, a lot of them had to go elsewhere in order to kick-start their careers.

One prime example is Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was very highly rated when he came through the ranks at Cobham.

This summer, his time with the Blues ended after he completed a permanent move to Serie A giants AC Milan.

Reflecting on his Chelsea career, Loftus-Cheek spoke about the unnatural role that he was asked to fulfill.

As per the Evening Standard, he said to DAZN: “I've played in many roles throughout my career. In the last two years mostly in a defensive position, and it wasn’t natural for me.

“I've always liked having the ball at my feet, having the freedom to create, to be decisive. I couldn't do that in the last two seasons, that way of playing didn't make me happy.”

Getty

Loftus-Cheek continued: “Now, I play in a position where I have more freedom, so I feel good.”

Explaining how his move to Italy came about, Loftus-Cheek said: “After I played against them in the Champions League, Milan said they were interested in me.

“I wasn't thinking too much about it, there was a lot of the season left at Chelsea, but towards the end things changed. Milan have always been a great club, after speaking with [Stefano] Pioli I was convinced to come here.”

Getty

So far in the 23/24 season, Loftus-Cheek has made three appearances in the Serie A for Milan.

Despite not scoring a goal, he has managed to provide two assists.

Milan have won all three matches so far as they sit second in the Serie A table and are only behind local rivals Inter Milan on goal difference.

The two Milan clubs will go head-to-head this weekend in what will be a mouth-watering clash.

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.