Former Chelsea and Arsenal player Willian – currently back at home in Brazil with Corinthians – recently admitted to Fourfourtwo.com to an attempt by Jose Mourinho to bring him to the Italian capital in the summer of 2021.
“When I was negotiating with Corinthians, I received an offer from Lyon. Milan were also interested,” said the 33-year-old attacker.
“I know that my agent spoke with Mourinho back then. He wanted to bring me to Roma,” he added.
“Mourinho’s a great friend, but things with Corinthians progressed faster and I thought it would be nice to return to Brazil.”
“I got a lot of messages asking me to come – you could see people were really excited about it. Besides that, it was also a chance to move closer to the national team’s radar, so I talked to my wife and daughters and they were all on board, which made the decision easier.”
