Shanghai Shenhua striker Nicolas Anelka said he was frozen out of training with the senior squad at Chelsea, after refusing to sign a new contract.
The Frenchman was forced to train with the youth squad and kept away from the rest of the first-team before eventually moving to the Chinese Super League outfit in January.
The 32-year-old Anelka who moved to Stamford Bridge from Bolton for 15 million pounds in January 2008 had been a key man for the Blues having finished as the Premier League top scorer with 19 goals under Carlo Ancelotti in the 2008-09 campaign.
Anelka had been linked with a move to Ancelotti s Paris Saint-Germain a move he denies was a possibility but the striker said he had a torrid end to his stint in London.
Ever since I was punished they put me with the youngsters, he told the Sun.
I ve got all the kit and equipment that professionals have but they put me in a separate changing room — that s football for you.
One day, you can be there scoring goals and doing all you have to do for your club but the day you leave there is no pity.
That s why the day you do decide to leave you have to do what you have to do and have no sadness either, because there are no friends in football.
That s the truth. It s sad to say but that s the truth. It s a collective sport but it s also very individual.
It s true that I could have had a better career but I know I ve succeeded and I m proud of that when I go back to France, back to the suburbs I came from, the guys there are proud of me.
They know I never gave up. I took plenty of knocks but I m still here.
Anelka also expressed disappointment at his treatment from the French media, as he had hoped that his goal for Les Bleus against the Republic of Ireland in their 2010 World Cup qualifier might have earned him some praise.
After all the ups and downs I ve had with the France team I had the impression that I had done something good for my country for once something positive. I was pleased with myself, he said of the goal.
But, no — it wasn t enough. The press didn t want it to be me and that hurt. It really hurt. After that I thought OK, World Cup or no World Cup, I couldn t care less .
That will stay with me for the rest of my life. When you know you ve done your duty and accomplished your task and yet they come along and stick a knife in your back, well, frankly, that hurt a great deal.
