‘I took cocaine when I played for Chelsea’

Former Chelsea star Adrian Mutu, has opened up on his troubles off the pitch, which derailed his career in west London.
Mutu spent just one year in west London after falling out with Jose Mourinho and being banned from football for eight months after testing positive for cocaine use.

It was a nightmare period for the former Romanian international, who failed to live up to the high expectations placed upon him after sealing a move from Italian side Parma.

Now, Mutu has reflected on his drug ban and insisted that, had he not taken the substance, he could have ‘easily’ won the Ballon d’Or. In an interview with The Telegraph, Mutu said: “Taking cocaine during my time at Chelsea was the worst decision I could have made in my career. “I was alone and sad, but neither depression nor anything else justified my actions. Zero tolerance – that was Chelsea’s policy regarding drugs. And I think that’s fair.

“I arrived at Chelsea during a turbulent time in my personal life, and I found myself caught up in too many excuses and lies. I was too young and too alone.

‘I’ve reflected on that many times. I believe that for more than a season, I was amongst the best players in the world, so I could have won it easily. But bad decisions prevented me from doing so. I try not to beat myself up about it.’”
Mutu first arrived in Europe’s major leagues with Inter Milan, joining as a 20-year-old in January 2000, before finding himself at Parma three years later, via a year at Hellas Verona.

At Parma, though, Mutu’s promising talent began to turn into an impressive ability in front of goal emboldened by a confidence in his supreme technical skills, that was more than worth the €10million (roughly £16m adjusting for inflation) they paid. — Daily Mail