Italian coach Maurizio Sarri has admitted leaving Chelsea after just one season in charge was one of the biggest mistakes of his managerial career football.
In the summer of 2018 – Sarri was brought in from Napoli to replace Antonio Conte with the aim of bringing the team back to greatness. Sarri led the team to a top-four finish and the Europa League title. As well as reaching the Carabao Cup final, but eventually decided to leave the team and return home to manage Juventus UFABET
Now, five years on, Sarri has admitted that leaving Stamford Bridge was one of the biggest mistakes of his career.
“I would have stayed at Chelsea,” Sarri said. “I wanted to go back to Italy because the situation at Chelsea was not easy. At that time Abramovich was not allowed to enter England. I only met him in games abroad. We spoke on the phone a few times, but not very often.”
Sarri said :
“I only spoke with Marina (Granovskaia, the Chelsea director at the time). There was no sporting director. So the situation was not very clear. That made me want to go back to Italy, but it was a mistake.”
“It would have been better if I had stayed there. I was a little bit worried about the situation at Chelsea. The situation at the club was unclear. I asked Marina if it was possible for me to return to Italy. And Marina asked for money from Juventus to set me free.”
“They said if I wanted to stay at Chelsea, that’s fine. At the end of the season with Chelsea. It was a good experience and good results. We finished third in the Premier League, reached the Carabao Cup final and won the Europa League. We played well in a lot of games.”
“Of course there are times when we are unlucky like Manchester against City, like the Bournemouth game. Now I am ready to start again. I don’t know where it will be, but my team and I are ready.”