Willian says he would have left had Conte stayed
Willian has told the Evening Standard there is “no chance” he would still be at Chelsea if Antonio Conte had remained in charge.
The Brazil international was linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge for much of the summer, with the likes of Manchester United and Barcelona interested.
Willian had an uneasy relationship with Conte, who was sacked earlier this summer and replaced by Maurizio Sarri.
When asked if he would be at Chelsea with Conte still at the helm, he said: “No chance. No. I’m here because I want to play for Chelsea. I will only leave if Chelsea want me to go.”
After starting their Premier League life under Sarri with a comfortable 3-0 win at Huddersfield, Chelsea welcome Arsenal to west London on Saturday.
Despite a good recent record against the Gunners, Chelsea struggled against them during Conte’s reign.
Willian believes the fresh tactical approach can help Sarri secure a win over fellow new Premier League boss Unai Emery.
“I think we have a good chance to turn the results around against them because now we have a different way to play football,” he said.
“The manager tells us to play, to enjoy ourselves on the pitch, with responsibility. Now we have a different style, that’s why we can create problems for Arsenal.”
13/08/2018 @ 3:24 pm
William should stop making worthless comments about conte a manager who has been able to distinguish himself both at the country n club level as a manager and player and rather concentrate more on his new lease of life with current manager, sarri, afterall, antonio conte made it clear that the philosophy he understands is ‘work, work, work’, a feat William could not achieve due to his laziness and a feeling of importance in his heart tearing game.