“William can testify” “Always frustrating players”- Ashley Cole finally reveals why he left Arsenal for Chelsea
Ashley Cole has finally opened up about the reasons behind his controversial 2006 move from Arsenal to Chelsea, shedding light on a saga that shocked football fans and earned him the nickname “Cashley” among Gunners supporters. Speaking on That Peter Crouch Podcast, the former England left-back explained that Arsenal’s broken promises forced him to leave his boyhood club.
“My situation was I knew what I was worth,” Cole said. “If you don’t want to pay it, no problem. But we did agree to pay it. Everything was agreed and then they pulled the rug [from] under me. They broke their promise – I couldn’t tell you why.”
At the heart of the dispute was Arsenal’s offer of £55,000 per week, a figure that left Ashley Cole “trembling with anger” when he learned of it. Chelsea reportedly doubled that salary when they signed him in a deal worth £5 million, plus William Gallas.
Reflecting on his decision to leave, Cole said, “It was hard [to leave]. People [don’t] understand the pressure that I was under to leave or to stay. Ultimately I felt disrespected, this is my point of view, I felt disrespected. It is what it is, but sometimes when I speak to fans [and they say], ‘You left, you hurt me’, I’m like, ‘Hold up’. People don’t realise that I was the one who got hurt the most. That was my boyhood club, I’d been living the dream. But I got shafted.”
Cole’s departure followed an 18-month charm offensive by Chelsea, including a clandestine meeting with Jose Mourinho and Peter Kenyon in 2005. This breach of Premier League rules resulted in fines for all involved: £100,000 for Cole (later reduced to £75,000), £300,000 for Chelsea, and £200,000 for Mourinho. Cole’s agent, Jonathan Bartlett, faced a £100,000 fine and an 18-month suspension of his license.
The move sparked outrage among Arsenal fans, who waved fake £20 notes with Cole’s face on them during a heated December 2006 match against Chelsea. Yet, Cole insists he was not the instigator and that he bore the brunt of the fallout.
“It wasn’t that I felt I wasn’t getting looked after because I was a young player,” Cole explained. “I didn’t ask for [Thierry] Henry’s or [Patrick] Vieira’s [wages]. I didn’t want that. I was nothing to do with them. I just knew what I was worth and they broke their promise.”
He also took aim at Arsenal’s handling of homegrown players, referencing recent comments by Martin Keown about disparities in how Arsène Wenger treated academy graduates compared to big-name signings. “I look back and I was bitter. In my head I was going, ‘You put me through some s***.’ And they just went like, ‘Ash, you deal with it, and it’s nothing to do with us.’ And I’m whatever age I was, 23, and I’m like, ‘You knew what happened.’”
Despite the bitterness, Cole’s move to Chelsea proved immensely successful. Over eight years, he made more than 330 appearances and won eight major trophies, including the Premier League, the Champions League, and four FA Cups. Arsenal, by comparison, won just one FA Cup in the same period.
Reflecting on his decision, Cole said, “For 20 years I got abused. I don’t blame fans [though]. I understand their frustration. They didn’t know the full facts, they didn’t know the truth.”
Cole’s legacy at Chelsea remains untarnished, as he is regarded as one of the best left-backs in football history and a key figure in the club’s golden era.