Danny Drinkwater is not content with his time spent at Chelsea(Image: Getty Images)

'I am so angry with how I was treated at Chelsea and relieved to have finally quit club'

Danny Drinkwater admits that he wasted some of his best footballing years after making the move from Leicester to Chelsea in 2017, making just 23 appearances with the west London outfit in his five-year tenure

by · The Mirror

Danny Drinkwater has lambasted his treatment at Chelsea, explaining how he threw away some of his best footballing years with the club.

Drinkwater, 34, initially rose through the ranks of the Manchester United academy before signing his first professional contract with the Red Devils in 2009. However, he failed to make a single senior appearance at Old Trafford, instead being loaned out to Huddersfield, Cardiff, Watford and Barnsley.

The central midfielder moved to Leicester in 2012 for an undisclosed fee, quickly finding his footing in the Midlands. Drinkwater made 218 appearances for the Foxes between 2012 and 2017 and was part of the 2013/14 side that won the EFL Championship andClaudio Ranieri's 2015/16 Premier League-winning outfit.

And like many other players from Leicester's golden era, Drinkwater was tempted by a move to a bigger club and joined Chelsea for £35million in 2017, with hopes of helping the Stamford Bridge elite replicate their own glory days in the English top flight. However, the move proved less than fruitful for Drinkwater, who made just 23 appearances for the club - instead being sent out on loan to the likes of Burnley, Aston Villa, Kasimpasa and Reading before being released in 2022 after his five-year contract expired.

Speaking to Sky Sports after his exit, Drinkwater noted that he was relieved to have parted ways with Chelsea, slamming the club's treatment of him over the course of half a decade. He said: "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." When asked if he feels as though he had wasted some of his career's prime time, Drinkwater explained: "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.

Drinkwater never quite settled at Chelsea( Image: Getty Images)

"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 ultimately confirmed his retirement from football last October at the age of 33, having not 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." His old club Leicester, meanwhile, host Chelsea at the King Power in Saturday's early kick-off as Premier League football returns following the international break.

He was instead loaned out to the likes of Aston Villa, Reading and Burnley( Image: Getty Images)

Third-place Chelsea will hope to bridge the four-point gap between themselves and second-place Manchester City when the action gets underway, with respective 1-1 draws with Manchester United and Arsenal forcing them to drop points in November. The side's last victory came in the form of a 2-1 win against Newcastle United at the end of October, although the side haven't lost a league game since their 2-1 defeat at Anfield the week prior.

Leicester, meanwhile, currently languish in 15th place in the Premier League standings, having won just two of their 11 games this season. Steve Cooper will be desperate to pick up vital points on Saturday after a 3-1 loss to Nottingham Forest, a 1-1 draw with Ipswich, and a 3-0 thrashing from Manchester United in their last three meetings.

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