Maurizio Sarri has frankly admitted that leaving Chelsea five years ago was a 'big mistake' and a 'big mistake'.
In one season at Stamford Bridge, Sarri famously led the Blues to a convincing 4-1 victory over Arsenal in the 2019 Europa League final. His team also reached the final of the Carabao Cup earlier that year, only to lose to Manchester City on penalties at Wembley.
Under the leadership of the Italian, Chelsea also achieved an impressive third place in the Premier League.
Sarri chose to leave west London after one year and returned to Italy, joining Juventus where he stayed for one more season and was fired after winning the Serie A title.
When asked about his stay with Chelsea, the 65-year-old told Italy's Sky Sport: “[Leaving was] a fundamental flaw in my work. We had everything we needed for our stay.
“It's a difficult club to work for where you don't finish the second season, as no one has ever done under Roman Abramovich.
“At least I could stay in a normal Premier League situation. We had a good trip there, as last season the team finished in fifth place, then we were in third place behind Liverpool and Manchester City, who were above everyone else.
“We won the Europa League with 13 victories and lost the Carabao Cup final on penalties to Manchester City, after beating Liverpool and Tottenham, who that year reached the Champions League final.
“I made a big mistake that I should have avoided. The desire to return to Italy should have been lower than the desire to stay in the Premier League, but it is not.”
In his one season at Chelsea, Sarri won 39, drew 13 and lost 11. Since resigning as Lazio coach in March of this year, the Italian is no longer in charge.
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