The player described it as the lowest moment of his career
A former Chelsea player has revealed how he was a denied a Premier League medal by Jose Mourinho on the ground that the Portuguese manager believed he ‘didn’t deserve it’.
The legendary manager had two spells at Stamford Bridge bringing huge success to the club including three league titles, one FA Cup and three League Cups.
However, one former Chelsea player revealed how he was not able to revel in the glory of winning England’s greatest prize in football as he was refused a Premier League medal by Jose Mourinho.
Carlton Cole opened up about his disappointment in missing out on a Premier League winners medal after not playing enough games to qualify for the accolade.
Cole spent five years at The Blues, however only made 33 appearances before moving on, and during the 2005/2006 did not feature the required ten times in the league to qualify for a medal.
He only needed to play two more games and described missing out on the medal as the lowest point of his career.
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Cole said: “We won the league under Jose Mourinho, but I didn’t play for the last three matches of the season because he didn’t want me to get a Premier League winners’ medal.
“All I needed was to play in two games, but Jose wouldn’t let me do that. He felt that I wasn’t deserving of a medal, so in the end I never got one.”
Before the Premier League changed the rules before the 2012/2013 for players to qualify for Premier League medals, the minimum requirement was a total of 10 matches played in.
However, since then the requirement has now dropped to five games.
On a more positive note the talented forward also described his highest career point.
He said: “My senior debut for Chelsea in our 3-0 win against Everton in 2002 was my highlight.
“I came on for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and the applause I got from the home fans made me feel a sense of achievement and elation, because I knew how much work I’d put in to get to that stage.
“To have the chance to play for the first team in front of 40,000 fans with everyone knowing my name and wanting me to do well was a massive high point in my career, one I’ll never forget.”
Although starting his careeer at Chelsea, Cole made his name at London rivals West Ham where he appeared 293 times scoring 67 goals and getting 29 assists, becoming a cult hero along the way.
