Willian wants to stay and play at ‘very special’ Chelsea

Willian’s finishing up his sixth season and closing in on 300 Chelsea appearances, but he’s far from done with the SW6. In fact, if he had his way, he’d be staying as long as possible.

“I have one year left, but of course I want to play for this club. I don’t know if they want me, but of course I want to continue here.

“This club is very special to me. I won titles here, I have the affection from the fans and from the people that work in the club. I feel comfortable to stay. I am happy when I play well and score goals. I can give a different light.”

-Willian; source: Evening Standard

Having turned 30 last summer, Willian now falls under Chelsea’s over-30 contract policy, which means that he won’t be offered a new contract until the start of next season at the earliest. His current deal runs through June 2020, and the policy only allows for one-year extensions. Whether that will be enough for him (like it’s supposedly enough for David Luiz, whose contract is up at the end of the current season but is set to re-sign), or if he’ll eventually go the Cesc Fàbregas route and join a club willing to offer him multiple years, remains to be seen. Things can change pretty quickly in football.

Willian has continued to play a major part for Chelsea this season — including captaining the side on multiple occasions — but he has not made Brazil’s national team selection in two of the last three international breaks, including this week. Previously, he had not missed a single official selection since 2013. Could we be starting to see the beginning of the end for the Man Who Hates Tottenham?