to the one he had at Chelsea: he was astounded at the salary the club had agreed on, as his value depreciated severely due to lack of first-team action, and decided to stay and honour his contract to the letter and appear for training every day, despite being only rarely selected to play. In the end, he only appeared 11 times during his four-year tenure, reportedly earning £40,000 a week during this period. After playing as a substitute against Ipswich Town on Boxing Day in 2000, Bogarde only played one more competitive match before his contract expired in July 2004. He also featured from the bench, against Gillingham for that season's League Cup on 6 November 2002. During his spell at Stamford Bridge, the club attempted to sell Bogarde due to his large salary, and demoted him to the reserve and youth teams in an effort to pressure him to leave. In response to concurrent UK press criticism, he responded: 'Why should I throw fifteen million euro away when it is already mine? At the moment I signed it was in fact my money, my contract. Both sides agreed wholeheartedly (...) Few people will ever earn so many. I am one of the few fortunates who do. I may be one of the worst buys in the history of the Premiership, but I don't care.' On 8 November 2005, 34-year-old Bogarde announced his retirement from professional football. He returned to Ajax in the summer of 2017, being named assistant manager at their reserves under former teammate Michael Reiziger. International career Courtesy of steady performances at Ajax, Bogarde was summoned to UEFA Euro 1996 by Netherlands manager Guus Hiddink, who also included him in the squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. A starter in the first competition, he only backed up Arthur Numan in the second. Bogarde had the chance to feature in his first start at a World Cup match against Brazil in the semi-finals, after starter Numan was suspended in the previous encounter against Argentina, but he sustained a serious shin injury during training and was hospitalised, being replaced by Philip Cocu. Personal life Bogarde's nephews, Melayro and Lamare Bogarde, are both footballers and Dutch youth internationals. Lamare recently signed a professional contract with Aston Villa. Honours Ajax Eredivisie: 1994–95, 1995–96 Dutch Supercup: 1995 UEFA Champions League: 1994–95 Intercontinental Cup: 1995 UEFA Super Cup: 1995 Barcelona La Liga: