'I could have won the Ballon d'Or easily at Chelsea if it wasn't for cocaine'

Adrian Mutu had the world at his feet at Chelsea. In 2003, the Blues paid £16million for him as part of the Roman Abramovich revolution, which saw Damien Duff, Juan Sebastian Veron, Joe Cole, Hernan Crespo and Claude Makelele arrive in the same summer.

He scored four goals in his first three games in a season where Chelsea finished second in the Premier League, prompting Claudio Ranieri to be replaced by Jose Mourinho. He had a fractured relationship with the new head coach, however, which stemmed from them accusing each other of lying about an injury.

In September 2004, Mutu was banned from football for seven months until May 2005 after testing positive for cocaine use. Chelsea then successfully sued him for £13.5m compensation and he has been fighting a legal battle in the courts ever since.

When asked by The Telegraph for the biggest mistake in his career, Mutu, who now coaches Petrolul Ploiesti in the Romanian first division, did not have to think too long about his answer.

"Everyone can imagine which one, it changed everything," Mutu said. "I was alone and sad, but nothing justified my actions. I should have asked for help, and I didn't.

"However, you learn from everything in life, and that lesson made me a better person-much more mature and self-aware. And I'm proud of that.

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"Zero tolerance - that was Chelsea's policy regarding drugs. And I think that's fair. I made a mistake, strayed from the path, and paid the price for it.

"I was caught off guard. I wasn't used to that life. I was unprepared. I arrived at Chelsea during a turbulent time in my personal life, and I found myself caught up in too many excuses and lies. I was too young and too alone."

Mutu was nominated for the 2003 Ballon d'Or and finished joint-22nd alongside Ronaldinho, Filippo Inzaghi, Jan Koller and Francesco Toldo.

He was a versatile forward, often compared to compatriot Gheorghe Hagi, and Mutu believes that he could have taken the top prize "easily" had he not been banned.

"I've reflected on that many times," Mutu conceded on the Ballon d'Or. "I believe that for more than a season, I was amongst the best players in the world, so I could have won it easily. But bad decisions prevented me from doing so. I try not to beat myself up about it."

He did return to Italy and enjoyed a distinguished career, especially at Fiorentina, where he is considered a club great, but Mutu can understandably look back and wonder what if.