Chelsea FC manager Jose Mourinho has praised the contribution made by Petr Cech during his 11-year career at Stamford Bridge and said that he understands his decision to leave despite reports in England claiming otherwise.
Petr Cech completed his A?10m transfer across London to Arsenal FC, drawing an end to a glittering 11-year career at Chelsea FC with an admission that a life doesna t always turn out the way you think it willa .
The goalkeeper, who was allowed to join London rivals Arsenal by Russian owner Roman Abramovich despite reports that manager Jose Mourinho was not in favour of the move, thanked the owner by specifically taking his name in a letter posted in his official twitter handle . . However, he made a very generic statement that one would think is merely out of formality, to thank all his managers without mentioning Jose Mourinho, a manager renowned to have very strong emotional bond with his players.
However, Jose Mourinho has dispelled any doubt how highly he thinks of Petr Cech by thanking him for his services and categorically stating he understand why the former Chelsea FC man moved on.
a Petr has been a great servant for Chelsea for 11 years and helped this club to win almost everything there is to win,a Mourinho told Chelseaa s official website.
a I always said I wanted him to stay but I understand Petr needed to move on to play first team football every week.
a Sometimes you have to respect the wishes of someone who has earned so much respect with his service and actions for your club. I support the ownera s decision to honour the player in this way.
a 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.
a Petra s success at this club will always to be remembered and we thank him for everything he did.a
It was Jose Mourinho who had given Cech his Chelsea FC debut in 2004 after signing him from French side Rennes for A?7m and the player spoke of the respect he has for his former boss.
a He (Mourinho) had to make his decision at the start of last season, I had to make my decision at the start of this season, but I will always keep the best regards for him because I believe that we had so much success and so much respect for each other,a said Cech.
a He is one of the best managers in the world. Now, we will be opponents but it will not change our relationship, I believe.
a I learned a lot from him and one of those things was that if you have to make a hard decision, you need to make sure that you do it if you believe it is the right choice.a
