ROMAN ABRAMOVICH once took it upon himself to hammer the Chelsea dressing room after a Champions League defeat to Jose Mourinho, Joe Cole has revealed.
The former England midfielder played in the second leg of two losses to Inter in the 2010 last-16 only to find himself and the rest of the squad under fire from the owner.
Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich lost his cool after the club’s 2010 Champions League exit, says Joe ColeCredit: Getty
The incident came after defeat to Jose Mourinho’s Inter across two legs in the last-16 under Carlo AncelottiCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
‘s side were in the middle of a title race they would go on to win at the time but were knocked out early on in Europe by a familiar face.
‘s Inter, who would go on to lift the Champions League two months later, beat Chelsea 3-1 on aggregate after a late Samuel Eto’o strike at Stamford Bridge sealed the Blues’ fate.
Despite the competitive nature of the tie, was left seething and made a surprise appearance at full-time.
In an extract of his new autobiography ‘Luxury Player’, published by The Telegraph , Cole said: “Roman was a rare presence in the lives of his Chelsea players.
“We would see him briefly after games.
“He gathered us together once in 2010, after we lost in the Champions League to Inter Milan, by then managed by Jose Mourinho, to ask us pointedly whether we were top players, or just players on top salaries.
“That was the only time in seven years I saw him speak to us as a collective squad. It was also the only time I saw him angry.”
The 43-year-old added: “He was a man who felt quite comfortable walking into a room and saying nothing at all.
“Maybe he just liked to see how people reacted. I can’t say that’s my style.
“Roman didn’t waste words. He didn’t bother with small talk. He only engaged if he was genuinely interested.
“I once found myself explaining to him in detail what a particular piece of equipment in one of the medical rooms was for when he wandered in there one day when I was rehabilitating from an injury.
“He spoke decent English. His questions were specific. I realised about 20 seconds in that he was not shooting the breeze; he wanted to know.
“And once he was satisfied he understood what the device was for – he was off.”
had earlier lifted the lid on another Abramovich anecdote, this one much more positive.
He said: “The night we beat at Highbury in 2004 to reach the semi-finals Roman Abramovich came into the dressing room as usual with his crew.
“You could see in his face that even this guy – poker-faced and inscrutable at the best of times – was, in the football parlance, absolutely buzzing.
“So were we and it wasn’t just about the glory. We players had each secured a £50,000 last-four bonus.
“ turned down the music and shouted: ‘DOUBLE BONUS!’
“All the lads looked at Roman. Someone started making that noise crowds do, until we all joined in, a low ‘oooooohhhh’ that builds and builds to something.
“ ‘DOUBLE BONUS!’ shouted Roman in agreement. The room went wild.
“Mutu turned the music down again and shouted: ‘DOUBLE DOUBLE!’
“We turned back to Roman but his guys were already bundling him out of the room before he promised to drop another million pounds.”
Abramovich was willing to pay Chelsea players double bonuses after reaching the semi-finals in 2004.Credit: Getty
Cole never did win the Champions League with Chelsea but Abramovich saw his side claim glory twiceCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
However, Cole went on: “I know what some of you are thinking. Greedy footballers.
“Billionaires throwing cash around. You might even be thinking, we didn’t actually win the 2004 semi-final against Monaco.
“And you would be right on that point. But that was how it went down and, at Chelsea, it was about to get wilder.
“We never got paid the double bonus, though. Turns out that changing a bonus schedule mid-season is completely against the rules.”
Abramovich did go on to get his dream of seeing Chelsea win the Champions League, something that became an obsession after Mourinho’s first spell in charge.
is evidence of the Israeli-Russian oligarch’s ruthlessness.
A core group of players built from Mourinho’s arrival seven years earlier eventually delivered European glory before Thomas Tuchel returned Chelsea to the summit of the club game in 2021.
Abramovich sold the club less than two years later following the UK government imposed sanctions off the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Cole reflects: “I do often wonder where in the world Roman is now.
“I would like to think that one day I can talk to him about what happened, and how his life went from a young man, orphaned as a child, selling rubber ducks on the streets of Moscow, to being one of the best-known billionaires on the planet.
“And then to what it is now – whatever it is now.”
