‘I took cocaine when I played for Chelsea and it was the worst decision of my career – I could have easily won the Ballon d’Or’

Former Chelsea star Adrian Mutu has opened up on his troubles off the pitch which derailed his career in west London. 

Mutu spent just one year in west London after falling out with Jose Mourinho and being banned from football for eight months after testing positive for cocaine use. 

It was a nightmare period for the former Romanian international, who failed to live up to the high expectations placed upon after sealing a move from Italian side Parma. 

Now, Mutu has reflected on his drug ban and insisted that, had he not taken the substance, he could have ‘easily’ won the Ballon d’Or.  

In an interview with The Telegraph, Mutu said: ‘Taking cocaine during my time at Chelsea was the worst decision I could have made in my career.

‘I was alone and sad, but neither depression nor anything else justified my actions. Zero tolerance – that was Chelsea’s policy regarding drugs. And I think that’s fair.

Ex-Chelsea star Adrian Mutu has opened up on his troubles which derailed his career

The former striker’s career was plagued with numerous off the field controversies

‘I made a mistake, strayed from the path, and paid the price for it. I was caught off guard. I wasn’t used to that life. I was unprepared. 

‘I arrived at Chelsea during a turbulent time in my personal life, and I found myself caught up in too many excuses and lies. I was too young and too alone.

‘I’ve reflected on that many times. I believe that for more than a season, I was amongst the best players in the world, so I could have won it easily. But bad decisions prevented me from doing so. I try not to beat myself up about it.’  

Mutu first arrived in Europe’s major leagues with Inter Milan, joining as a 20-year-old in January 2000, before finding himself at Parma three years later, via a year at Hellas Verona. 

At Parma, though, Mutu’s promising talent began to turn into an impressive ability in front of goal emboldened by a confidence in his supreme technical skills, that was more than worth the €10million (roughly £16m adjusting for inflation) they paid.

He scored 22 goals in 36 games in 2002-03 before, once again, he was on the move. His sensational rise brought him to the Premier League, where Roman Abramovich had just taken over Chelsea.

By the end of 2003, Mutu had even achieved the acclaim of being nominated for the Ballon d’Or – football’s greatest individual award – earning the same number of votes as legends Ronaldinho, Filippo Inzaghi, Jan Koller and Francesco Toldo. 

Unfortunately, it was not to last. In fact, he would only score two more goals in the league that season in the following 22 games, quickly turning from Premier League sensation, to disappointing Chelsea flop – and the arrival of Jose Mourinho in summer 2004 would spark the end of his career in west London.

The arrival of Jose Mourinho (right) at Chelsea ended Mutu’s career in the Premier League

Mutu was sacked by Chelsea after a positive test for cocaine, and the club then demanded he paid £15.2m in compensation

Mourinho had reportedly caught wind of Mutu’s party-boy lifestyle – not that they were hard to miss – and more or less made his mind up.

Despite Abramovich’s insistence that Mutu was not for sale, the player was relegated to the depths of the bench after a reported bust-up in pre-season over suspicions that the player was using cocaine.

He then tested positive for cocaine use in September 2004 and was handed a seven-month ban from football which brought an end of his time in west London.

The end of the line at Chelsea brought new beginnings. His former club began the hunt for a then-record £15.2m in compensation, but Mutu found a route back into football with Juventus, although he was unable to make his debut until the final game of the 2004-05 season.