Lille winger Salomon Kalou has suggested that he would have stayed at Chelsea if Robert Di Matteo had not been manager.

The 27-year-old, who was released by the Champions League winners in the summer, has insisted that he would still be a Blues player if Jose Mourinho had remained at the club.

"If Mourinho would have stayed at Chelsea I could have matched expectations, because what I need is a coach that is backing me 100%," Sky Sports News quotes Kalou as saying.

The Ivory Coast international spent six years at Stamford Bridge.