Premier League 2018-19: Willian opens up about Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri

What's the story?

Chelsea star Willian has said that the ex-Chelsea coach Antonio Conte was 'very difficult to work with', while speaking on a show on ESPN Brasil (h/t espn.in/football). Willian also joked that he hopes the new manager Maurizio Sarri is not like Conte.

In case you didn't know...

Willian is a Brazilian football player who plies his trade for English club Chelsea as a winger and an attacking midfielder. He joined Chelsea in 2013 and since then has won two Premier League titles with them, while also being named the Chelsea player of the year in 2016.

The heart of the matter

The Brazilian star found playing minutes hard to come by under Conte and at times expressed his discontentment publicly. He was seen storming straight down the tunnel after winning a match.

The Chelsea winger also went on to the extent of posting a photo of the team replacing Conte's face with a trophy emoji, soon after winning the FA Cup against Manchester United.

Interesting placement of trophy emojis by Willian here... #cfc pic.twitter.com/yjTpN39Olz

— Liam Twomey (@liam_twomey) May 20, 2018

On the ESPN show, Willian laughed and said that his daughter was playing with his cell phone and that she ended up putting those emojis over Conte's face.

"After the final, I got a plane right after the game to come to Brazil. When I got here, early in the morning, I was posting some champion pictures. Well, I was a bit too tired and ended up posting them like that," he said.

"I hope he is not like Conte," Willian went on. "No, I'm kidding!"

"For me, Conte was a manager very difficult to work with. His philosophy, his way of dealing with things is very complicated. There were a few games sometimes we just don't understand. You're playing very well, then you get substituted. I do not understand. There were two times when I got substituted and I went straight to the locker room. It was hard to work with him".

He also revealed that the former manager had problems with Diego Costa and David Luiz, and slammed his decision of selling Costa.

"You don't lose a player like Diego. It was a difficult situation," Willian said.

What's next?

Willian has been subject of transfer interest from Manchester United and Barcelona, but stated that he is happy at Chelsea and is looking forward to working with Sarri.

He said, "This is just the beginning. I’ve been only in three training sessions. We have a new season with a new philosophy, everything is new for everyone. But this team has everything to improve in all aspects."

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