Argentina legend Hernan Crespo: 'I spent too little time at Chelsea'

Published on: 10 August 2017

After their title winning campaign last season, FC's Stewart Robson thinks Chelsea will struggle to perform this season.

Hernan Crespo has told the Daily Mail that he regrets not spending longer at Chelsea and revealed that family problems cut short his time at Stamford Bridge.

The Argentine striker was one of the headline captures of Roman Abramovich's initial wave of spending. He joined Chelsea for £16.8 million in the summer of 2003, but played just two full seasons for the Blues -- winning the Premier League title in 2005-06 -- amid loan spells at Milan and Inter.

Many supporters were left with the impression of Crespo as a talented striker who failed to adjust to life in England, but he insists that his desire to stay and win at Chelsea was overridden by personal tragedy.

"It was a very difficult moment in my private life," Crespo said. "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.

"My time at Chelsea is full of great memories. My teammates, 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.

"I cried after the game when we won the league -- it was hugely special to me. The first season we came second and got to the Champions League semifinal, and I knew I needed to come back and win with Chelsea."

Crespo still follows the fortunes of his former club with interest, and backed Antonio Conte's insistence that Chelsea require several more signings in the last three weeks of the transfer window to bolster a squad short on numbers.

"If Conte needs a few players, the best thing is for the club to do that," the Argentine added. "If you think about Marcos Alonso, Victor Moses, David Luiz -- they're playing better than ever. That's Conte's hands.

"It's very difficult to repeat [a title win]. Conte did a great job -- he built a team. Usually, to keep going you need to change a few things."

Liam is ESPN FC's Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter: @Liam_Twomey.

Comments

Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on ESPN's media platforms. Learn more.

Source: espn.co.uk

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Learn more