Andriy Shevchenko opens up on reasons for flopping at Chelsea and insists he would have ‘given the world to return the affection’ fans showed him

Former striker Andriy Shevchenko has opened up about his 2006 move to Chelsea, and appeals to Blues fans his regret over the struggles he endured in West London.

Shevchenko joined Chelsea from Serie A side AC Milan for a fee of £31m, which when adjusted to the 2023 price inflation of transfers would have been worth around £215m. 

The Ukrainian forward was an undoubted success in Italy, winning the Champions League and the Ballon D’Or, but failed to replicate any form at Chelsea. 

Shevchenko never lived up to lofty expectations and scored just 22 goals across two years at the club. 

Now he has come out and explained his troubles, citing injuries as the reason his career at Chelsea never quite took off. 

Injuries plagued Shevchenko’s time in West London, suffering two seperate hernia problems

Shevchenko recently managed Serie A side Genoa for just a single year between 2021-2022

Speaking in his new book, My Life, My Football, Shevchenko spoke at length about his injury challenges that plagued his time in London. 

The 47-year-old details how he arrived at the club with an issue following the 2006 World Cup in Germany, with things never getting better after reccuring hernia issues. 

He said: ‘I would like people to understand my difficulties were due to physical issues.

‘The fans were great with me but sadly I never managed to show them my best. I was afraid I was going to have to retire from football.

‘I felt bad for the people and the club. I’d have given the world to return the affection they were showing me. Instead, I was broken.’ 

Shevchenko put a large portion of the blame on the hasty recovery from a knee injury suffered at the World Cup that left him tired at the start of his Blues career.

He said: ‘I did my best and gave my all: that was just my way. Still, I knew my motor wasn’t running as it ought to.

‘The newspapers criticised me heavily but only I knew the real problem: that accursed fatigue that had never lifted.’

Shevchenko in action at Stamford Bridge, where he struck up a strong relationship with fans

The Ukrainian striker won the Champions League and Ballon D’Or while at Italian giants AC Milan

Chelsea won the League Cup in 2007, with Shevchenko playing an important part however soon after he discovered a hernia.

The hernia forced Shevchenko to miss the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool and the FA Cup final against Manchester United before having a summer operation. 

Shevchenko said: ‘During the operation, something didn’t go to plan. I didn’t get back to what I was before.’ 

Unfortunately this type of injury reocurred, as the Ukrainian found a herniated disc in his back after Chelsea’s 4-4 Boxing Day draw with Aston Villa. 

He added: ‘I lost all my strength. I was in a rich vein of form — the worst possible moment to suffer an injury.’

Shevchenko worked his way back to fitness but said: ‘I was barely a shadow of the player I used to be.’

The strikers conclusion to his time in London, and was forced to watch the 2008 Champions League final defeat to Manchester United from the bench, before discovering his hernia had returned and required more surgery.