August 22, 2013 – Brazilian winger Willian passes a medical at Tottenham. August 25, 2013 – Willian agrees a deal to join Chelsea.
Yes, he looked all set for a move to Spurs in the summer of 2013 before their London rivals swooped in at the last moment to sign him for £30million.
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Willian has been a fantastic servant during his seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge, winning two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, a League Cup as well as the Europa League.
His efforts haven’t gone unnoticed either, with the player picking up numerous individual accolades at Chelsea, including the Chelsea Player of the Year award in 2015/16 and the Chelsea Players’ Player of the Year on two occasions.
Meanwhile, Spurs spent their money funded by the sale of Gareth Bale on the likes of Paulinho and Roberto Soldado in that fateful summer.
But now Willian’s stay at Chelsea has ended and though he will remain in the capital, Spurs will still not get their man.
Spurs haven’t really shown an interest in signing the 32-year-old – despite being managed by Jose Mourinho, the man who signed him seven years ago, but it looks like the player is sort of doing the dirty on them once again.
That’s because he has joined north London neighbours, Arsenal, having reportedly completed a medical with the Gunners.
Not a lot brings Chelsea and Arsenal together, but preventing Spurs from improving their squad is a common interest both clubs will share.
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And talkSPORT.com has taken a closer look at how Willian’s prospective transfer to Spurs fell through at the eleventh hour all those years ago.
It’s understood Chelsea had made enquiries or offers for his services in every transfer window since 2011, however, Spurs became frontrunners to sign the then-Anzhi Makhachkala star after agreeing a deal in principle with the Russian club.
In 2018, Willian shed light on the chain of events that unfolded that saw him eventually sign for Chelsea, insisting he always wanted to sign for the Blues.
He told Brazil TV show Resenha, as quoted by Eurosport: “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'”.
However, once Chelsea got wind that Willian was in England, owner Roman Abramovich decided to intervene.
Anzhi was owned by fellow Russian oligarch Suleyman Kerimov and Chelsea subsequently made their move.
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Willian added: “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 said, ‘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.'”
However, Willian and his team were unable to just head on over to west London, leading to a very awkward exchange at Spurs’ training base.
Willian said: “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.”
Eventually, he left the premises and Willian promptly signed for Chelsea, inspiring the famous ‘He Hates Tottenham’ chant at Stamford Bridge.
He’s been a huge contributor towards their success in recent years, while all Spurs are left with are thoughts of what might have been as their wait for a first major trophy since 2008 goes on…
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