Premier League winner wishes he'd never joined Liverpool but it was them or Tottenham
Premier League winner Joe Cole has revealed his regret at joining Liverpool after leaving Chelsea.
Cole, who has three Premier League winners' medals to his name, left Chelsea for Liverpool in 2010.
He spent seven seasons at the club following his transfer from West Ham United and departed Stamford Bridge as a club legend.
The attacking midfielder helped the Blues to three Premier League triumphs before penning a deal at Liverpool.
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The move to Anfield came about after he was riddled with injuries during the end of his Chelsea career.
Liverpool beat Tottenham to snap up Cole, who has since revealed his regret over the transfer.
"I done my knee and that was probably the start of the end of my career because I was never the same player after that," he said on The Obi One podcast.
"I done everything, ACL, PCL, MCL - I was out for 11 months.
"Chelsea were right, from a business perspective. They stopped contract negotiations to see how I was when I came back.
"I came back in October. By this time, Carlo Ancelotti had come into the club, I was coming in off the bench, playing well, but it was hard to break back into the team.
"The guys went away to the Africa Cup of Nations in the January. I knew I'd have a chance to play regularly.
"I played every game, six, seven or eight games in a row, played really well and then they started, 'we can offer you this new contract', but it wasn't at what it was before.
"My ego got involved a little bit and football was more of a struggle. I would play and my knee would blow up. I was in a lot of pain.
"We would win a game but I couldn't train for three or four days afterwards. I really wrecked myself. That's how my body was after it.
"Something clicked and I thought to myself, 'I'm never going to get back to the player I was. I've got to leave'.
"Because I didn't want to finish my Chelsea career just sitting there on the injury table."
Cole added: "I had a choice between Liverpool or Spurs because Arsenal pulled out - I just couldn't go to Spurs.
"It would have made sense, Harry Redknapp was the manager, they had a good team, I lived in London, half my pals are Spurs fans. I just couldn't do it.
"Liverpool is a great club. It didn't work for me there but it is a fantastic club.
"But if I could have my time again, I would probably go abroad, somewhere hot, because playing in the heat actually helped my knee."
Cole played 42 games for Liverpool, scoring five goals and had a loan spell at Lille during his time at the club.
He left Merseyside to make an emotional return to West Ham.
Topics: Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Football
Nasir Jabbar