Blues’ boss gives his verdict on the recent transfer
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that he respects Petr Cech for moving from Chelsea to London rivals Arsenal.
The goalkeeper recently swapped North London for West London in a deal worth around £10.9 million; he signed a four-year deal at the Emirates Stadium.
After winning 13 major trophies in 11 years at the Blues, the Czech Republic international decided it was time to move on as he lost his number one spot to Thibaut Courtois.
Mourinho has his say
In his open farewell letter, the 33-year old Cech didn’t mention Mourinho by name when thanking several Chelsea colleagues of past and present. Although he did speak highly of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
However, when Mourinho spoke to the Express he said: “Petr has been a great servant for Chelsea for 11 years and helped this club to win almost everything there is to win, I always said I wanted him to stay but I understand Petr needed to move on to play first team football every week.”
He also added: “Sometimes you have to respect the wishes of someone who has earned so much respect with his service and actions for your club.”
When Mourinho was asked about Abramovich’s public backing of Cech, he replied: “I support the owner’s decision to honour the player in this way. It is very rare in football to make a decision like this and for that reason I am proud of my club for making it.”
“There are not many clubs in the world big enough to be able to make that decision,” Mourinho acknowledged.
“Petr’s success at this club will always to be remembered and we thank him for everything he did.”
