Mourinho and Cech discuss departure.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho confirmed his ideal outcome would have been for Cech to remain in the Chelsea squad for the coming season but with the player no longer being number one choice in goal and wanting to move on, supports the decision. He also expressed his gratitude for the part Cech played in so much success.  

‘Petr has been a great servant for Chelsea for 11 years and helped this club to win almost everything there is to win,’ praised Mourinho.

‘I always said I wanted him to stay but I understand Petr needed to move on to play first team football every week. Sometimes you have to respect the wishes of someone who has earned so much respect with his service and actions for your club. I support the owner’s decision to honour the player in this way.

‘It is very rare in football to make a decision like this and for that reason I am proud of my club for making it. There are not many clubs in the world big enough to be able to make that decision.

‘Petr’s success at this club will always to be remembered and we thank him for everything he did.’

Cech, who was handed his Chelsea debut by Mourinho in August 2004 and won three league titles under his management as well as the FA Cup and League Cups, described the unshakeable respect they hold for each other.

‘He [ Mourinho] had to make his decision at the start of last season, I had to make my decision at the start of this season but I will always keep the best regards for him because I believe that we had so much success and so much respect for each other.

‘He is one of the best managers in the world. Now, we will be opponents but it will not change our relationship, I believe.

‘I learned a lot from him and one of those things was that if you have to make a hard decision, you need to make sure that you do it if you believe it is the right choice.’

Source: Chelseafc.com