Fulham attacker Willian Borges da Silva, popularly known as Willian, has revealed that he was close to joining Tottenham Hotspur before ultimately signing for Chelsea in August 2013.
The Brazilian signed for the Blues from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala for a reported fee of £30 million and went on to spend seven successful years at the club.
During his tenure at Stamford Bridge, Willian won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, and the Europa League. He was also named the club’s Player of the Year for the 2015-16 season.
The Brazilian scored 63 goals and 62 assists in over 339 appearances for the club before departing for London rivals Arsenal on a free transfer in August 2020.
Speaking to Brazilian outlet Premier League Brasil, Willian revealed that he had always dreamed of playing for Chelsea and rejected an offer from Tottenham to join the Blues. Willian stated that he became fond of Chelsea when they made him an offer in 2011, while he was still at Shakhtar Donetsk. All three offers from the Blues was rejected by the club.
In 2013, while he was at Anzhi who were looking to sell him, he was again linked with Premier League clubs including Liverpool and Tottenham, but he liked London and decided to move to Spurs.
Despite making progress with Tottenham, Willian’s heart was set on joining Chelsea. He said that 45 minutes into his negotiations with Tottenham, he received an offer from Chelsea, and he “didn’t think twice” before accepting the offer.
The story as he narrates goes like this:
“I went to London and Liverpool and Tottenham were interested. I was negotiating with both, not Chelsea. And in my heart the dream was to go to Chelsea.
“Proposals came from both of them and, as I wanted to stay in London, I decided that I’d go to Tottenham. It was all agreed, I had already done medical tests, all that was left was to go to Tottenham’s training centre to sign the contract. But I still had an insecurity, my mind was elsewhere. I was going there with Chelsea in mind. Then, 45 minutes into the second half, Chelsea made an offer. And I didn’t think twice. It was something I really wanted, with all due respect to Tottenham, who are also a great club, but my dream was to play for Chelsea.”
Now, two years after leaving Arsenal, Willian has returned to the city he loves with Fulham. The Brazilian had a decent first season with the Cottagers, scoring five goals and providing four assists in 24 Premier League appearances.
He will be hoping to continue his impressive performances next season as he looks to guide Fulham back to the Premier League following their relegation to the Championship.
