Former Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo has revealed he regrets not being able to stay at Stamford Bridge for longer.
In an open and honest interview the Daily Mail, Crespo speaks of his admiration for the club and the fond memories he has of his time at the Bridge.
My time at Chelsea is full of great memories. My team-mates, the fans, Stamford Bridge – and we won the Premier League! It was unbelievable. I spent too little time at Chelsea. I want to have another life so I could spend more time there. I have a lot of respect for the fans – at the beginning of the Roman Abramovich era, they weren’t used to winning the title. It was fantastic.
Regarded by many as another one of Chelsea’s ‘expensive flops’, but yet loved by those in the four corners of Stamford Bridge, Crespo has become a hit with the fans on and off the pitch. The Argentinian opened up about the off-field matters that marred his time in England.
It was a very difficult moment in my private life. Two separate times, we lost a baby. It was hard to go through that with my wife. Life has to go on but it was so hard. If you think about just the football, winning the league and my relationship with the fans, it was great – but off the pitch was very difficult.
The forward joined Chelsea at the beginning of Roman Abramovich’s tenure at the club for just shy of £17 million.
Crespo’s Chelsea career was not what both parties had hoped for, despite scoring 12 goals across all competitions during his first season at the club.
When Jose Mourinho took over from Claudio Ranieri and Didier Drogba arrived from Marseille, Crespo joined Milan on a season-long loan.
He returned to the club the following year away to provide competition for the Ivorian and helped the Blues to their second consecutive Premier League title.
Despite the form shown in the second title-winning season, Crespo returned to Italy and eventually joined Inter on a permanent deal after a loan spell back at the San Siro.
