I couldn't say no to Chelsea – but I regret how my transfer turned out

His time at Stamford Bridge didn't work out as hoped, but he wouldn't change his decision to join the Blues if he could go back in time

Danny Drinkwater is in two minds over his Chelsea stint after admitting he could never have turned the transfer down.

However, the former midfielder has regrets for how his career turned out for the Blues. Drinkwater spent five years with Chelsea but made just 23 appearances for the club overall.

A number of incidents took place across the 36-year-old's time at Stamford Bridge including a training ground bust-up while on loan and a on-pitch brawl with the under-23s. During an appearance on Truth or Padel with David Ornstein, Drinkwater was forced to answer the major question of whether he regrets joining Chelsea in 2017.

When he lost the padel point and had to answer, the ex-midfielder said: "No, I don't regret moving. I regret, in hindsight, how it's turned out. I think I could never turn it down."

In the extended episode on The Athletic's YouTube channel, Drinkwater opened up about his Chelsea career and how it didn't pan out the way he planned. He explained: "[Antonio] Conte was my first year, we kind of butted heads towards the end.

"Just on the whole, 'Why have I not played as much as I've thought, that's what you brought me to the club for,' kind of thing. I think we (Drinkwater and N'Golo Kante) played one game together, which is madness (they played 12 times together for Chelsea). But again, that was by the by, that was just kind of a conversation me and the manager had. So, nothing really there.

"I think the way [Maurizio] Sarri handled not wanting to use me as a player was madness really, with the time he gave me and the way it was presented, kind of thing. I just felt that was just nuts. And then you've got the sacking of Conte, which the club handled in a way that I didn't want to be involved in, and that got used against me."

Drinkwater discussed his notable incidents, including being fined two weeks' wages for headbutting Aston Villa team-mate Jota. The former midfielder was on loan when he fought with the Spaniard and it ended in a physical brawl.

Drinkwater explained: "There are just a few situations I think - I mean, they fined me a massive amount of money for something that was pretty standard, really. I understand there was more things than just that once that happened, but yeah, I got banned from the first team building for something or nothing. It was just a circus.

"They didn't formally ban me, but I got removed from the first team building after the incident at Villa. I mean, you're playing football, bloody hell, what do you want everyone to be best mates all 24/7? It was just a circus, mate."

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