Carlton Cole looks set to rejoin West Ham United, three weeks after player and club agreed that it wasn't working out and that they should go their separate ways.
The former West Ham, Chelsea, West Ham, Aston Villa and West Ham man called things off with the east London club in May, claiming that their relationship had become stale.
"I just felt the spark had gone," Cole told FourFourTwo. "West Ham knew I'd be there every Saturday, ready to take my place on the bench, and I knew they'd hand me £40,000 afterwards. I suppose we got a bit complacent.
"Then I found out West Ham had been texting Demba Ba behind my back. I confronted them and we had a tearful chat and agreed that maybe it was time we started seeing other people.
Dinner with Fernandes
"But after we spent some time apart, I heard West Ham were talking to Loïc Rémy. They'd always said they liked the look of him when we were together, and it was hard not to feel jealous. I went and had dinner with Tony Fernandes so I wouldn't have to think about them swooping for him.
"But I realised that West Ham are the only ones who make me feel wanted, in a very literal sense. QPR could pay me all the money in the world – and to be fair they probably would – but we both know I could never give them what they wanted."
West Ham joint-chairman David Gold admitted that he still thought about Cole a lot, and that he'd considered their parting to be not so much a break-up as a trial separation.
Happy Hammer
"Carlton knows how much he means to West Ham," Gold said. "We've been through so much together: relegation, promotion, long-term injuries, short-term injuries. We've had our ups and downs, but I can't imagine Carlton playing for any other club, and nor can any other club, it seems."
Cole said that he hadn't deleted West Ham's number and that they hadn't reassigned the No.24 shirt, implying that their reconciliation was meant to be.
"I'm excited, but right now it's important to take things slow," he added. "Which is just as well, given my turn of pace."
