Willian was close to signing with Tottenham In 2013, even though he was more attracted by another London club.
Speaking to Brazil TV show Resenha, the winger said: “You know my objective was to go to Chelsea, but since Chelsea don’t want, then we’re going to Tottenham. I said ‘oh, I’m going to sign with Tottenham, anyway, there’s no other option’.
“Then we’re going in the van, on the way, get to the training centre, Kia [Joorabchian], my agent, is already down there, waiting. I thought it was weird, he was already at the door.
Then I got out of the van, he said, ‘we have problems’. I said ‘oh, what happened?’ Then he ‘Chelsea made an offer’. I said, ‘So make do, I’ll get back in the van, you’ll make do and I’ll go to Chelsea, I will not sign with Tottenham’.
“I stayed there for eight hours in the training centre. Tottenham’s director said ‘I’m going to report you to FIFA, this and that, fans here in England will boo you, this and that’. They made up a lot of things. I got stuck there for eight hours. Then I left and I went straight to meet the Chelsea people to sort the details and sign.”
Until this Sunday, Willian had never scored against the team he almost signed up for in the Premier League. But when he finally did, the 31-year-old did not want to wait for the second one for too long and followed that up with converting a penalty.
As for this story, it has already earned its place in the Blues’ fans’ folklore: the ‘He Hates Tottenham’ song has never been more to the point.