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Jose Mourinho has praised Chelsea for the way they allowed Petr Cech to join Arsenal after 11 years of service at Stamford Bridge.
As part of a goodwill gesture from Blues owner Roman Abramovich, the Czech goalkeeper, 33, was allowed to decide his own destination from the teams interested in him.
"I support the owner's decision to honour the player in this way,'" Mourinho said on chelseafc.com.
"Petr has been a great servant for Chelsea for 11 years and helped this club to win almost everything there is to win.
"I always said I wanted him to stay but I understand Petr needed to move on to play first team football every week.
Show all 15 1 /15Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures August 2004 Petr Cech was signed from Rennes for £7m in January 2004 while Claudio Ranieri was still in charge, but he never played under the Italian. He was unveiled along with Jose Mourinho and others ahead of the 2004/05 season
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures August 2004 Cech made his Chelsea debut against Manchester United on 15 August, 2004. Eidur Gudjohnsen scored in a 1-0 win for the Blues
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures 2004-05 Cech celebrated winning the title - Chelsea's first in 50 years - after a stunning first term. He went 1,025 minutes without conceding at one stage, allowed just 15 goals past him and ended up with 21 clean sheets, all Premier League records. Chelsea added the League Cup and he was also named in the PFA Team of the Year
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures 2005-06 Cech was again outstanding as Chelsea won another title, conceding just 22 goals in the 34 matches he played
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures 2006-07 On 14 October Cech suffered a depressed skull fracture after colliding with Reading's Stephen Hunt. He would eventually miss three months of the season
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures January 2007 Cech made his return at Anfield on 20 January, wearing a rugby style headguard. Chelsea lost 2-0 but Cech ended the season with an 810 minute streak without conceding and being named Player of the Month for March. Chelsea eventually finished behind Manchester United although they won the FA Cup and the League Cup
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures 2007-08 Jose Mourinho left Chelsea in September and Cech endured an injury-hit season that included calf and ankle injuries and a collision with Tal Ben Haim that left him needing 50 stitches; he missed 22 games in total. He returned for the end of the season and saved Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty in the Champions League final, but John Terry slipped when he could have won the Blues the trophy
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures 2008-09 Under Luiz Felipe Scolari Chelsea started well but soon began to falter - the Brazilian accused Cech, as well as Didier Drogba and Michael, of causing his sacking. Chelsea finished strongly under Guus Hiddink, narrowly losing a Champions League semi-final to Barcelona and then winning the FA Cup against Everton
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures 2009-10 Under Carlo Ancelotti Chelsea stormed their way to a Premier League and FA Cup double, with Cech saving a penalty in the final against Portsmouth and keeping 17 clean sheets in the Premier League
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures 2010-11 Chelsea had the first trophyless season of the Roman Abramovich era as Carlo Ancelotti was eventually removed as manager at the end of the season. Cech, however, was impeccable, playing every Premier League game and being named the Chelsea's Player of the Year
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures 2011-12 Although Didier Drogba got the headlines for scoring with his final (at the time) shot for Chelsea, Cech was the real hero as the Blues finally won the European Cup. The goalkeeper saved an Arjen Robben penalty in extra-time and then two more penalties in the shoot-out to be named the man of the match
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures 2012-13 Chelsea enjoyed winning another European Cup as Rafa Benitez led the team to a Europa League win over Benfica
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures 2013-14 Cech had another brilliant season, keeping 17 Premier League clean sheets and being named in the PFA Team of the Year for the second time. Unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder injury in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid - he missed the rest of the season and it would turn out to be his last game as Chelsea No 1
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures 2014-15 Chelsea opted to bring 22-year-old Thibaut Courtois back from Atletico Madrid, where he had been on loan for three years. With an eye firmly on the future, Jose Mourinho decided to make Courtois his No 1 for the season over the veteran
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Petr Cech's Chelsea career in pictures 24 May Cech appears to play his final game for Chelsea, at home to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge in a 3-1 win. The goalkeeper had a vital role last season, playing 15 games in total when Thibaut Courtois suffered a couple of injuries and a mid-season loss of form. He has played 485 games for Chelsea, winning four titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, the Europa League and the Champions League
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"Sometimes you have to respect the wishes of someone who has earned so much respect with his service and actions for your club.
"It is very rare in football to make a decision like this and for that reason I am proud of my club for making it.
"There are not many clubs in the world big enough to be able to make that decision.
"Petr's success at this club will always to be remembered and we thank him for everything he did."
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