A number of players have swapped Manchester City for Chelsea over the years.
Raheem Sterling was one household name to make the switch from the Etihad Stadium to Stamford Bridge, while Cole Palmer – who never wanted to leave Manchester City – made the same move in September 2023.
There was another player who found himself forced out of Manchester City like Palmer back in 2005 in the form of Shaun Wright-Phillips, who has now opened up on the details behind his £21m move to west London.
Shaun Wright-Phillips claims Manchester City forced him to leave
Speaking on The Dressing Room Podcast, the 43-year-old said: “I didn’t know nothing about it (the exit). It started with Arsenal.
Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images
Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images
“The first thing that came up was Arsenal were very interested in signing you. I honestly said, I’m happy where I am, I don’t want to leave, because when I was playing football back then, I didn’t think about playing for a big club. I just enjoy it.
“I just enjoyed playing football, and as a naive kid, you think you’re just going to be at one club. I was just happy where I was.
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“Yeah. There was no intention to move or anything, and then he (his agent) just came back to me and said, the club have accepted an offer. I was like, what do you mean? I said, I don’t want to go nowhere.
“He just turned around and said, well, you don’t really have a choice. Next thing I know, the driver was outside for me to come to London and that was it. I remember walking at Stamford Bridge down that little aisle towards the building when I was obviously going to sign and I’m with dad (Ian Wright) and you know, dad’s like a big kid.
“He’s there like dancing around excited. And I’m just, as I am, just walking. He’s like, what’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you happy? I said, I am happy. He said, so why does your face look like someone just stole your wallet?”
How did Shaun Wright-Phillips fare at Chelsea?
You can understand why Wright-Phillips, who admires David Silva, was reluctant to leave Manchester City.
The Londoner had made 153 appearances for the Citizens at that stage after emerging from the academy, and clearly loved Manchester City, as he returned for a second stint in 2008 – adding another 64 appearances to his total.
Wright-Phillips evidently failed to adjust to the move, judging by his numbers on the pitch at least, as he scored only ten goals in 125 games for Chelsea.