'I was forced to join Chelsea and cried on drive there – I didn't want to leave Man City'
'I was forced to join Chelsea and cried on drive there – I didn't want to leave Man City'
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Shaun Wright-Phillips has opened up about the emotional turmoil he faced when he left Manchester City for Chelsea. The former England winger - the son of Arsenal legend Ian Wright - came through the ranks at City and made his senior debut at the club. And Wright-Phillips was content to spend his entire career in Manchester before it became clear a sale was necessary to save his beloved club.
Speaking on the Seaman Says podcast, hosted by Gunners legend David Seaman and sponsored by Betway, he said: "It's weird. I loved my time there [at City], loved the fans, but it wasn't something that I anticipated or wanted to happen. I was a naiive kid that just thought I was happy at City and would play there for the rest of my life. I didn't think about winning the Premier League, I just enjoyed playing football.
"City were going into administration, which I didn't know. When they first asked me, I said, 'No, I'm fine, I'm happy where I am.' The first conversation that came in was that Arsenal were interested in buying me. I just carried on playing football, then they said they didn't want me until January. It didn't bother me because I wasn't thinking about moving. My heart was set on staying at City. I took it as a compliment and just wanted to get better and better.
"Then Chelsea came in and they just said the deal had been accepted. The next thing I know there's a car waiting outside for me to take me to London for the medical. I got in the car and I was crying because I didn't want to leave. I only found out four to six months after that they had to sell me or the club would have gone into administration.".
