“They broke their promise.. I felt disrespected” - Ashley Cole opens up on why he left boyhood club Arsenal to join rivals Chelsea

Former player Ashley Cole has explained why he left his boyhood club Arsenal to join their London rivals Chelsea during his playing days. The Englishman opened up about the issues he had with the Gunners' hierarchy.

Cole established himself at Arsenal, having come through the club's academy. The former left-back was a key player in their success under iconic manager Arsene Wenger and his infamous 'Invincibles' side.

He made 228 appearances for the Gunners between 1999 and 2006, winning two Premier Leagues and three FA Cups. Cole then made his switch to Chelsea, causing a massive uproar among fans that would almost tarnish his legacy at Arsenal.

He has now opened up about the controversial move. Speaking on That Peter Crouch Podcast, Cole said (via Metro):

"My situation was I knew what I was worth. 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."

He continued:

"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 realize 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 added.

Ashley Cole went on to win another Premier League, four more FA Cups, and the Champions League, among other trophies, with Chelsea.

Ashley Cole further explains why he left Arsenal to join Chelsea

Speaking on the aforementioned podcast, Ashley Cole further explained his reasons for leaving his boyhood club Arsenal for Chelsea. The 44-year-old insisted that he wasn't demanding a wage similar to - at the time - older and more established players like Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira.

Cole's switch to west London certainly did not sit well with Arsenal fans and it came at a time when Chelsea enjoyed a massive influx of resources after Roman Abramovich purchased the club in 2003.

This led to supporters believing the move was made for money and he was labeled 'Cashley Cole.' While he understood fans' frustration, Cole claimed that they weren't aware of the entire picture.

"It wasn’t that I felt I wasn’t getting looked after because I was a young player. I didn’t ask for [Thierry] Henry’s or [Patrick] Vieira’s [wages]. I didn’t want that. It was nothing to do with them. I just knew what I was worth and they broke their promise," he said.

"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.' I think [former Arsenal vice-chairman] David Dein came out and mentioned something recently. But it took him like 20 years. For 20 years, I got abused. But I don’t blame the fans. I understand their frustration. They didn’t know the full facts, they didn’t know the truth," he concluded.