'I was so relieved to quit Chelsea – the way the club treated me left me fuming'

Danny Drinkwater has criticised his time at Chelsea, admitting that he wasted some of his prime footballing years with the club. Drinkwater, 34, began his career in the Manchester United academy and signed his first professional contract with the Red Devils in 2009.

However, he never made a senior appearance at Old Trafford, instead being loaned out to Huddersfield, Cardiff, Watford and Barnsley. The central midfielder transferred to Leicester in 2012 for an undisclosed sum and quickly established himself in the Midlands.

Between 2012 and 2017, Drinkwater made 218 appearances for the Foxes, playing a key role in the 2013/14 EFL Championship-winning side and was also one of Claudio Ranieri’s 2015/16 Premier League championship title winners. Like many of his teammates from Leicester’s golden era, Drinkwater was lured by the prospect of joining a larger club and moved to Chelsea for £35million in 2017, hoping to help the Stamford Bridge giants recreate their own glory days in the English top tier.

However, the move turned out to be less successful than anticipated for Drinkwater, who only made 23 appearances for the club. Instead, he was loaned out to Burnley, Aston Villa, Kasimpasa and Reading before his five-year contract expired in 2022 and he was released, reports the Mirror.

In a candid interview with Sky Sports, Drinkwater expressed both relief and frustration over his departure from Chelsea. He lambasted the club’s handling of his situation, saying: “I’m relieved because it’s clear it wasn’t a situation that was good for me or the club.

“I’m angry because of how it’s gone and how I was treated – not bitter though, what ifs. It was a long time coming.” Reflecting on the lost years of his career, Drinkwater added: “Yeah, it feels like ‘what have you thrown those five years away?’.

“If you’d stayed at Leicester, if you didn’t get injured and if the club treated you differently. They’re all ifs. It’s frustrating, 100 per cent. Don’t think I’m still not burning about how it’s gone. I still kick myself for it. But on the other side, am I going to keep kicking myself because I can’t change it.

“Can I help myself going forward? That’s why I went on loan, why I went to Aston Villa and Burnley on loan, which didn’t work, and going to Turkey at the age of 30 – I never thought I’d do that. It’s also the reason I dropped down to the Championship. I’ve been trying to do the right things. As I’ve tried doing them, something’s gone wrong.”

Drinkwater confirmed his departure from professional football last October at 33, without having played since June 2022. At the time, he said: “I think I’ve been in limbo for too long,” adding: “I’ve been wanting to play but not getting the opportunity to play at a standard or a level where I felt valued.

“I’ve never been really obsessed with football, I’ve just loved it. The idea of me dropping down is fine, but it’s the idea of not playing to my worth.” Leicester City play host to Chelsea at the King Power Stadium during Saturday’s early Premier League kick-off as league football resumes following the international break.

Chelsea, currently in third place, aim to close the four-point distance that separates them from second-placed Manchester City as Premier League action resumes. They hope to make up for lost ground after settling for 1-1 draws with both Manchester United and Arsenal back in November.

Their most recent triumph was a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United at the end of October, and they haven’t faced a league loss since their 2-1 setback against Liverpool at Anfield the week before. Leicester find themselves in a challenging 15th position in the Premier League table, triumphing in only two out of 11 matches this season. Manager Steve Cooper will be eager to secure crucial points come Saturday following a string of disappointing results, including a 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest, a 1-1 stalemate with Ipswich, and a severe 3-0 beating by Manchester United.