AC Milan

‘I should have left Chelsea as a teenager,’ says Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The Blues graduate, who now plays for AC Milan, spoke to The Times about his views on his time in London.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been at Chelsea for almost 20 years, progressing through the youth ranks and eventually breaking into the first team, then going on loan spells before finally being sold to AC Milan last summer. While the 28-year-old has struggled to establish himself in the starting XI at Stamford Bridge – he has only had two seasons with at least 1,000 league minutes – he has been a regular in Italy.

The Englishman admitted in in an interview with The Timesthat the best choice for his career would be to leave his parent club sooner. That way, it would be easier for him to develop. In his opinion, Chelsea did not have the right plan for their young players.

“The fans look at the youngsters developing with favour. We felt that they were supporting us. But I think football has two faces: entertainment and business. I think that sometimes, if a club with a big budget has youngsters and can buy a fully developed player in great shape for millions, they will want to win [i go kupi]. It’s easier than trusting homegrown players,” he said. “That’s what happened at Chelsea. It was hard to play. Even if you’re talented, they can sign a ready-made player who’s at the top of his game. It’s hard for homegrown players to break through in those conditions. But I think it can be easier if the club has a plan for them.”

The midfielder spoke about how a young academy player should manage his career so that he does not have any reasons to regret it.

“If you’re seven or eight and you sign for Chelsea, that’s great. They have a great academy where they’ll teach you how to play well, you’ll develop there. You’ll have a great coach. But then there comes a time – at 15 or 16, when you start playing in the youth team. That’s when you can think about leaving. It’s hard to break through now and the best way to progress is to play regularly. It’s easier to get games in a lower league team. I think I missed that moment.”

Asked whether, looking back now, he would have left Chelsea at 15 or 16, Loftus-Cheek replied simply: “Yes.

The 28-year-old Englishman has not missed a single minute in the first three rounds of Serie A. Milan have had a disappointing start to the season, however. The Rossoneri have had two draws and a defeat. The previous campaign was quite successful for the Chelsea graduate. In total, he made 40 appearances across all fronts (36 of which were in the starting line-up). He scored 10 goals and provided two assists.