Ryan Bertrand made history as the first player to make his Champions League debut in the Finals, but he may not have had a chance as Chelsea was plotted to sell him behind his back
Ryan Bertrand was approaching attending Nottingham Forest in Chelsea, so he accidentally stopped his salary. The former England International began his career at Gillingham before graduating in 2006 and moving to Chelsea’s Youth Academy.
From there, the 2012 Champions League winners took multiple loans to Norwich City, Reading, Forest, and others, who they wanted to sign forever in January 2011. The 35-year-old, who appeared in the sports podcast business, explained the situation where Chelsea is ready to accept a deal from the forest for his services – he was unwise.
Bertrand said: “The most important point is I think I was in Nottingham Forest, a great club there. January came and Billy Davis was the manager. He pulled me into the office.
“I said, “What do you mean? And he said, ‘Well, we’re going to buy you this window. They say everything is done, but we’re waiting for you.” I told him, ‘Sorry, I don’t know anything about this. No one told me anything, I’ll come back to you.’ It was Friday as I got the game the next day so I just said, ‘Go back to you.’ ”
The defender decided to close the loan deal and return to the parent club to fight for his starting position with the Blues. He said: “So I quit training and went through a few things next week and then made a decision. What happens at the club, the manager comes in, the manager changes things, the manager brings in the players, they want to play the players.
“So when they bring players, if they spend £2 million on this player, they’re only spending £200,000 on you from Gillingham, so they’re going to push their players, and he’s going to push this £2 million player because his neck is on the line.
“It’s just a reality of what you have to understand. Unless you’re that great, he’s always going to give his players an element of doubt. I’m not going to name the guys or players I’ve been competing with.
“And I remember coming back and I was like, ‘No, I’m going to go back to Chelsea.’ So I cancelled my loan in Nottingham Forest and returned to Chelsea. ”
He added: “I was training, I was retreating on the other left, training with my first team, and I remember doing a warm-up.
“And they’re all laughing on the side of the pitch, and I’m here trying to warm up and give my best explanation of myself.
“This is a bit balanced, but I took it because the coach is trying to bring this left back there. Now, that’s the nature of the beast.”
But the deal between Chelsea and Forest has gotten worse for Bertrand as Bruce has advanced enough to take him from his salary. He continued: “I cancelled the loan and came back to my first team and at the end of the month, it was something I didn’t actually get paid.
“I told mom, I said I wouldn’t be paid. She called the club, and the club said, “Oh, sorry, I beat him when he left.” She was like, “No, no, he’s still here.” So I don’t actually know, but I think when I left the club I went behind my back where I was actually down. ”
After several more loan transactions, Bertrand eventually moved £11.5 million to Southampton in 2015, making 152 appearances for the club during his six-year tenure. He finished his football career at Leicester City and spent two years with the fox before retiring in 2023.
Throughout his 17-year career, Bertrand won the Champions League against Chelsea, the Europa League, the FA Cup, and the FA Community Shield against Leicester City. He sparkled the brightest of the 2014/15 season. He was named in the PFA Team of the Year while financing Southampton.
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