CAPE TOWN – Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri claims Chelsea players were in tears after his sacking was announced by the London club.
According to reports, the Chelsea heirarchy decided to part ways with Italian Sarri due to his poor relationship with his playing squad.
During Sarri’s tenure as Blues boss, they surecured a top four finish in the league, won the Europa League and fished runners up in the Carabao Cup. Despite this, the Italian was an unpopular figure in the dressing room.
He was replaced as manager by Frank Lampard, and the former midfielder has done a good job in steadying the ship, and they were on course of a top four finish before the Premier League season was brought to an abrupt halt due to the spread of the coronavirus.
In an interview with Juventus’ YouTube channel, Sarri said surprisingly claimed he was close with his players in London, even going as far as to say some were in tears when he was sacked.
“The higher you go up the ladder, the harder it is to build personal relationships with your players,” Sarri said in the interview.
“Your surroundings change a lot and it takes longer to build those relationships. I had a conflicted relationship with the Chelsea dressing room, but when I told them I’d be leaving, many of them cried.
“I’m not so much a person who pats others on the back. I talk a lot about what they do wrong and less about the good things they do. I think that has a big impact, but then they learn to appreciate you for who you are. The longest relationships are with the lads I played least, so I think they recognise something once they absorb your character,” said Sarri.