Why ditching Arsenal for Chelsea was the best thing that ever happened to Ashley Cole




Moving to Chelsea was the best thing that happened to Ashley Cole

ASHLEY COLE wouldn't have left Arsenal if they hadn't gone back on their word but joining Chelsea was the best thing that ever happened to him, according to his agent.

 

Cole joined Chelsea from Arsenal in 2006 in a deal worth £5million and William Gallas going the other way.

It came after Cole has been left "trembling with anger" over Arsenal's contract offer of £55,000-a-week.

Cole is said to have nearly crashed his car when receiving the offer from Arsenal over the phone.

 

But his agent, Jonathan Barnett, insists he would have signed a new contract at Arsenal if they'd been honest with him.

For his part in the deal Barnett was fined £100,000 and banned from football activity for 18 months.

“I think I made mistakes. But I also think I was harshly treated," Barnett told the Guardian. 



Cole won the Champions League in 2012

"I was made a scapegoat, because it goes on all the time. 

"Also, if Arsenal hadn’t gone back on their word, Ashley would have stayed 100% and that would never have happened. 

"I’m not justifying it, but explaining it. 

 

"But it was probably the best thing that ever happened to Ashley Cole. 

"Arsenal won nothing, he won everything and financially he was much better off. 

"My job as an agent was done.”