Some players can develop an emotional attachment to the clubs they play for despite having no prior connection to them.

It's a wonderful thing when it happens, though it's becoming another trait that's dying out with the modern game.

But Damien Duff has revealed that he loved his time at Chelsea so much that he cried when he left the club back in 2006.

Having joined the Blues from Blackburn Rovers in 2003, the Irish international went on to make a total of 125 appearances in his three years there.

Speaking with FourFourTwo, he explains that he knew he was making a big mistake when he left to join Newcastle, and his emotions got the better of him.

“I cried on the day that I left [Chelsea] – looking back, that probably should have told me I was making the wrong call, as I never cried when I left Blackburn, Newcastle or Fulham, or even when I retired. But it was my own decision,” he said.

Duff also confirmed that he could have joined Tottenham before making the move north to St James' Park, but opted to go elsewhere instead of remaining in London to play for another club.

“I remember getting a message from Martin Jol, but I was a Chelsea fan after winning titles there so it was something I never really looked at. I had friends at Newcastle – Scott Parker, Shay Given – and I wanted to give that a real go, but I had a disaster. I gave them everything but sometimes moves don't work out."

But not only that, he went on to reveal that he could have joined another Premier League heavyweight, with Liverpool coming in for him not once, but twice.

He explains that the Reds were first keen on him before he left Blackburn, but reignited their interest in him again during his time with Chelsea.

“I came close [to joining Liverpool] two or three times,” he added.

“The first was a year or two before I signed for Chelsea [in 2003]. I would have gone there, but Blackburn wanted a big fee so not too many clubs could afford to buy me back then! Then when I was leaving Chelsea, the same move nearly happened again.”