Former Chelsea striker Carlton Cole has claimed Jose Mourinho told him he "didn't deserve" a Premier League title winners' medal for his role in the 2005-06 campaign.
The England international had been making a name for himself in the Premier League when Roman Abramovich took over as owner of Chelsea in 2003. After a couple of seasons out on loan with Charlton and Aston Villa, he was welcomed back into the fold as Mourinho aimed for back-to-back titles in his first two years in English football.
However, despite wrapping up the title with games to spare, Cole wasn't given the 10 appearances required to guarantee a league winner's medal. And, reflecting on his time under the Portuguese boss, the Englishman also drew on a moment involving his former Chelsea and West Ham United teammate Joe Cole during Mourinho's tenure.
"I got to nine games and I think you needed 10 back then," Cole said at Masters Football and bookmakers.com 's 'Evening With the Hammers' event in London. "Now you need just one minute on the pitch, so I felt a bit hard done by.
"Mourinho, looking back in hindsight, he wasn't really nice to me. He used to say that I wasn't doing the right things on the pitch, so why do I deserve a winners' medal?
"I was training every day, I was sharpening the players, you are still part of the squad. He used that against me."
The striker was 22 at the time, and made his seventh appearance of the season in February as Mourinho's Blues lost 3-0 at Middlesbrough, but was left on nine after waiting until May for another run-out.
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The same season saw Mourinho court controversy in a Premier League defeat at Fulham in March. Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips started either side of Hernan Crespo in a front three, but both were hooked inside the opening half hour with Chelsea trailing against their neighbours.
"That was bang out of order what he did to Joe Cole," Carlton Cole added.." I think Chelsea were playing Fulham and it was live on TV.
"As a footballer, getting taken off before half-time when you have started the game is like the cardinal sin, because it brings the morale right down. Sometimes you can do it if it was a tactical decision, but this one was because he felt Joe wasn't doing the right things on the pitch that he wanted to do, so he showed him up in front of the fans and that was bang out or order to be honest.
"But these things happen, you move on with your life and your career," he continued. "I am happy that I found a new path and I was welcomed with open arms at West Ham and it was a dream come true in hindsight."
The two Coles would end up being reunited at Upton Park during the 2012-13 season, with Joe joining Carlton back in east London after a spell with Liverpool. An FA Cup meeting with Manchester United in January 2013, in which the midfielder earned two assists, was the first time the pair played in the same team since the final day of the 2005-06 season.
Carlton Cole left Chelsea permanently at the end of the 2005-06 season, making a permanent switch to West Ham and playing more than 200 league games for the Hammers. Joe, who began his career at Upton Park, made 157 league appearances for the club across his two spells, having won three Premier League titles with Chelsea in the interim.
