David Luiz Opens Up On ‘Mature’ Chelsea Split

Chelsea defender David Luiz says his departure from Chelsea this summer was amicable, after a ‘mature’ discussion with manager Frank Lampard. The Brazilian signed a contract extension with the Blues in May, but left the club for London rivals Arsenal in August. Luiz says the decision to leave was the result of a conversation with […]
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sambafoot_admin
2019-10-23 23:19:00

Chelsea defender David Luiz says his departure from Chelsea this summer was amicable, after a ‘mature’ discussion with manager Frank Lampard.

The Brazilian signed a contract extension with the Blues in May, but left the club for London rivals Arsenal in August.

Luiz says the decision to leave was the result of a conversation with new Blues boss Frank Lampard. “Me and Lampard, we had honest conversations.

“Man to man, me and him. His ideas of football were different to mine. We just agreed: ‘OK, we move on’,” Luiz told the Telegraph. “In an honest way, in a mature way.

“We played together, we won together. We won the Champions League, the Europa League, everything together. It was done in a mature way.”

Luiz is also hoping to use his experience with Chelsea last season with his new club Arsenal. “It is not about the beginning, it is about the end.

“Last season everybody was killing Chelsea, killing Sarri. In the end, we won a title. Everybody was speaking about other clubs and in the end they did not win anything. It is about the end.”

The Brazilian said he had resolved to leave the West London club before Arsenal made contact with him about a transfer deadline day move.

“I decided to leave Chelsea before there was contact with Arsenal,” he says. “People do not know that but I decided early to leave Chelsea.

“After that I had contact with Arsenal and I took a decision which everybody knows was not easy.”

The player says the ability to adapt to a coach’s demands is one of the most important lessons that he has learned during his illustrious career.

“Now I understand you have to adapt depending on the philosophy of the coach. This is how you learn football.

“Now I know if a coach asks me to play in this way, I know how. If a coach asks me to play a different way, I would know how.

“Every day you have to be ready to learn. It is not about me and my instincts, it is more about the collective plan.

“Putting yourself inside this and adapting to this philosophy. The results are collective results, not individual results.

“I came from Benfica where I was playing like that. I was the best player in the Portuguese league and we won the title in this way.

“And then I came here in the middle of the season and in the first five games everybody says ‘woah, he is amazing’.”

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sambafoot_admin
Oct 22, 2019

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