Willian confirms that he is leaving Chelsea

Willian has confirmed he will leave Chelsea with his contract expiring after seven years at the club.

The Brazilian attacker released the following statement on Instagram to announce the news:  "The time has now come to move on. I am certainly going to miss my teammates, I will miss all the staff at the club which have always treated me like a son and I will miss the fans. I leave with my head held high, safe in the knowledge that I won things here and always did my best in a Chelsea shirt!"

The former Shakhtar Donetsk man spent 7 years at Stamford Bridge where he won 2 Premier League titles, the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the Europa League.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE FANS OF CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB . . They were seven wonderful years. In August 2013 when I received the offer from Chelsea, I was convinced that this was where I had to play. Today I am certain that it was the best of decisions. There were so many happy times, some sad, there were trophies and it was always very intense. . . Yet, beyond the trophies, I learnt a lot about myself. I developed a great deal, becoming a better player and a better person. With each training session, with each game, with every minute spent in the dressing room, I was always learning. . . I am really grateful to the Chelsea fans for the affectionate way they welcomed me at Stamford Bridge and their support throughout my time at the club. There was also criticism, which is normal, what is important though is that both the affection and criticism drove me to always give my all in every training session, every game, to be constantly improving until my very last minute in a Chelsea shirt! . . The time has now come to move on. I am certainly going to miss my teammates. I will miss all the staff at the club who’ve always treated me like a son and I will miss the fans. I leave with my head held high, safe in the knowledge that I won things here and always did my best in a Chelsea shirt! . . My heartfelt thanks go out to all of you and God bless you! . Willian Borges da Silva

A post shared by Willian Borges Da Silva (@willianborges88) on Aug 9, 2020 at 6:06am PDT

Aside from this, he was named Chelsea Player of the Year, and Players' Player of the Year for the 2015/16 season.

It has been widely reported that the Brazilian was unhappy with the contract being offered by Chelsea, Willian wanted a three-year deal but was only offered two years at the club.

Arsenal have been heavily linked with a move for the midfielder.

Chelsea attacker Pedro also announced that he'd be leaving the club following their Champions League elimination by Bayern Munich.

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