Former England star Joe Cole recently opened up in an interview, expressing his regret over joining Liverpool and revealed the reasons behind his decision. After suffering a severe knee injury in a FA Cup match against Shrewsbury Town in January 2009, the 42-year-old considers that injury to be a turning point in his career. As a devoted Chelsea fan, when his contract expired 18 months later, he left the club.

Liverpool, having defeated Tottenham Hotspur, signed Cole through a Bosman transfer and he became one of manager Roy Hodgson's first signings. However, the former England international did not find success during his time at Liverpool.

During his tenure with the Reds, Cole made only 42 appearances, scoring 5 goals and providing 4 assists. Under the management of Kenny Dalglish, Cole gradually fell out of favor and after a disappointing first season at the club, he was loaned out to Lille. However, he returned to Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers. Despite this, six months later in January 2013, he left on a free transfer to join West Ham United, with 18 months left on his contract.

Cole admitted that he would have preferred to stay at Chelsea, but after his injury, he realized he was no longer the same player and believed that leaving Stamford Bridge was the best choice when transferring to Liverpool.

Reflecting on the negotiations for a contract extension, Cole reminisced on his podcast appearance on his former teammate, Mickel's, "The Obi One" podcast, stating, "The negotiations were just about to get going, and we were very close to reaching an agreement when I got injured. (When I left) I was almost 29 or just turned 29. My knee went, and it was just the start of my career ending because I was never the same player after it. I had all the surgery, ACL, PCL, LCL, MCL, and I missed 11 months."

"It hurt me, but, in hindsight, Chelsea were right from a business point of view. They stopped the negotiations to see how I would recover... So, when my knee went, Chelsea were in a very strong position in negotiations, but they stopped them."

"Then I came back in October. Carlo (Ancelotti) had taken charge... I was sitting there on the bench, doing well, but it was hard to break back into the team."

"Some players had to go for the African Cup of Nations in January. I knew that was my opportunity to get game time. I played every game, six, seven, eight games in a row, and did really well, and then they started saying, 'We can sort you out a new contract.' It was different to what had happened before."

"I was a bit arrogant, playing football was more of a struggle. I would play, and my knee would flare up. I couldn't do certain things I used to be able to do. After every game, my knee needed icing, and it was really painful... very few people get back to the level they were..."

"Then they stopped the negotiations. But, in truth, Carlo wanted me to stay. And I trusted Carlo because he is a good, honest man. He said, 'I want you to play, but Kalou and Malouda are doing well.'"

"I'm a rational person, and I knew they were doing well. If they weren't, I wouldn't be knocking on the manager's door. But I was doing well too, which is why we won the double. Everyone was doing their bit..."

"At the end of the season... my body just wasn't right... It was a championship decider at Old Trafford, and I started the game. We had to win, we couldn't draw, otherwise we would lose the league, and in the last two minutes of (training), I pulled my back..."

"I scored... We won the game, but for the next three or four days, I couldn't train. I just broke myself. My body was shot."

"Subconsciously, I thought about it, I said to myself, 'I can't get back to where I was. I have to leave. I don't want to finish my Chelsea career just sitting in the treatment room.'"

When reflecting on his experience with Liverpool, Cole revealed the reasons behind his decision to ultimately choose Anfield, but admitted that in hindsight, he would have preferred a move abroad."I had to choose between Liverpool and Tottenham, because Arsenal pulled out, and I couldn't go there. I just couldn't.""I lived in London, and half my friends were Tottenham fans. I just couldn't do it.""I had just become a father, and Liverpool is a great club. I wasn't successful there, but it's a great club with a huge global impact.""But if I had my time again, I might say, 'No, you know what, hold on. I'll go abroad, to somewhere hot, because playing in the heat would've been better for my knee.'""Because after that, I went to Liverpool, West Ham, and Aston Villa. I had a decent time in France, but my knee, I was just managing it. I could still play, sometimes well, but I was just never as consistent as before. I haven't played for England since 2010.""Then I went to America, and it was like a miracle. Living in the sun, my knee recovered 60-70%. I can still play now, but it's still not right. It was like a miracle.""If I had the benefit of hindsight, I would've gone somewhere hot abroad, maybe somewhere in Spain or the south of Italy, and I think I could've played at a top level a bit longer. After my knee went, I wasn't the same. It's a shame, but my career was still long...""My only regret is if I hadn't injured my knee in that Shrewsbury Town game, I could've played at Chelsea for another five, six, seven years, and maybe I would've won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012.""But you can't do anything about it. I started playing professional football in the Premier League at 17 and got battered. By the time I was 29, I was like an old banger that had run out of fan belts! My knee was shot, and in the end, I was just a Ford Cortina!"