Saturday, 20th September, 2014



Florent Malouda believes there is "no excuse" for how he was treated during his final season at Chelsea.

The winger, who recently signed a two-year contract with French Ligue 1 side Metz, was sidelined by the Blues throughout the 2012/13 season, being forced to train with the club's youngsters and failing to make a single first team appearances throughout the campaign.



Malouda left Chelsea when his contract expired in the summer of 2013 and joined Turkish side Trabzonspor, where he played last season.

Memories of his final year at Chelsea are still fresh for Malouda, who feels a sense of injustice about what befell him at Stamford Bridge, where he spent six years in total, winning the Champions League in 2012.

 


"Upon my return from Euro 2012, when the media told stories about this and that, such as that I asked for too much money and that the club tried to get me set up in Brazil, I understood", the winger told L'Equipe, when asked about what really happened at Chelsea in his final year.

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"The board did everything in order to discredit me. There are no excuses for this kind of practice!

"I was sent to the academy, when I was less than 21 years old, to be made an example of, to show that a player must not decide on his future.

"It was a decision that was purely political, like for Alex or Nicolas Anelka."

Malouda admits that his time on the sidelines at Stamford Bridge was not easy to take. However, he insists he was determined not to be broken by the experience and to be free in the summer of 2013 to decide where he would play his football.

The Frenchman also believes his attitude earned him the respect of Chelsea's youngsters.

"It hurt me that I couldn't play in the final of the Club World Cup in 2012, especially against a Brazilian team, but I was never close to cracking", the former Lyon man explained.

"I knew where I was going, I remained consistent and there were never any intermediary discussions with the board, not even during the winter transfer window.

"I didn't want to go into exile in Russia, I always wanted to remain free in my choice. So I made plans and dealt with my year at the academy, where I was very respected amongst the youngsters."

 


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