Max Wilkins

Fri 27 March 2026 15:49, UK

West Ham United hero Carlton Cole has revealed how racism impacted him in the early days of his football career.

The 42-year-old broke through at Chelsea in 2001 before going on to have a 16-year playing career across a whole host of sides.

The striker was at his best with the Hammers as he featured across nine years in claret and blue and became a fan favourite.

He has since returned to Rush Green to serve as the Loans and Pathway Manager in East London in the latest instalment of his love affair with the claret and blue outfit.

Cole is well-loved by the West Ham faithful, but has now allowed fans to see a vulnerable side of his game by sharing his experience of racism in his early career.

Carlton Cole shares his first experience dealing with racism in football

The upcoming release of Transforming the Beautiful Game – The Clyde Best Story has opened up plenty of needed conversations about racism in football.

Best featured for the Irons between 1968 and 1976, becoming one of the first black players to become a star in the old English First Division.

The Bermudian acted as a role model for up-and-coming players everywhere, with his documentary film set to share his story with a new audience.

Speaking on a panel at Sadler’s Wells East in London on Thursday after the showing of Transforming the Beautiful Game – The Clyde Best Story, Cole showed love for the movie, before sharing his own experience of racism at the beginning of his playing career.

The former West Ham striker said: “I’ve got to say this documentary, it’s the first time I’ve seen it, and I had a tear in my eye because the emotions that it brings out of you are something that you kind of relate to.

• You can watch Transforming the Beautiful Game – The Clyde Best Story at Sadler’s Wells East on 27-28 March by booking tickets here.

“I had my first bout of racism, first time ever, and it wasn’t in this country, it was in Spain. So, it shows you that we have come a long way in this country since those days, but you had to take the full brunt of that force against you, and it’s only now, when you start to look back, you see how important this documentary and this film actually is.

“I can show this to my son and say you’re privileged because you don’t know coming from Bermuda to England, a different land, and having to be at 17 years old, I could even wash myself at 17 years old, properly anyway.

“So, to think that he’s coming from that neck of the woods to here and then face the battles that he had to face and have that mental strength to still play football after you’re going through all of that. That’s something else, and I’m so thankful to even be sharing a stage with such royalty here.

Best has certainly had a massive impact on football and has inspired Cole to become the player he eventually did at Upton Park.

Cole pays tribute to West Ham legends Best and Ade Coker

The new documentary certainly had a profound impact on the former Chelsea and Aston Villa striker, but it is clear he was already well aware of the story.

While speaking about his own experiences, Cole also wanted to let both Best and Ade Coker understand what they meant to him and so many others.

Speaking at Sadler’s Wells East, he added: “Listen, for me, Clyde means so much to football, not just for me, for everybody. But this is just going to cement it in the thoughts of people, and hopefully everybody learns from this, and we can move on from where we are now to even further down the line, where colour doesn’t matter.

“In football there’s loads of ups and downs and there’s loads of emotions that go into this sport and being a young black, young up and coming footballer, knowing that someone has done it before you in this country or in the world, it just means so much and it gives you a direction to follow and I can’t thank Clyde and Ade here today enough, not just for me but for every young black footballer that’s come after them.”

These words clearly come from the heart, and Cole has showcased exactly how much Best means to people and why his story needs to be told on the big screen.

Transforming the Beautiful Game: The Clyde Best Story will premiere from 25 to 28 March in London.

Tickets can be purchased on the Sadler’s Wells website.