I left Chelsea after just one season - it was the biggest mistake of my career

Maurizio Sarri has admitted he made a "mistake" by quitting Chelsea and wishes he could have stayed at Stamford Bridge. The 65-year-old, who replaced Antonio Conte as their next head coach in July 2018, decided to leave the Blues after less than a year in charge to return to his native Italy.

During his time in west London, chain-smoker Sarri guided the club to the Europa League title, a top four finish and a Wembley final. He won 39 of his 63 matches in charge, boasting an impressive 61.9 per cent win rate.

However, Sarri 'panicked' and headed back to Italy to manage Juventus. The gradual breakdown of Roman Abramovich's relationship with the UK government was behind him leaving the Blues instead of negotiating a new contract after an excellent debut season at the club.

Sarri, who once memorably enjoyed a cigarette on the sidelines, has explained why he felt that he had to leave Chelsea at the time - and how he now regrets that career choice.

"I could have stayed at Chelsea," he told The Sun. "I wanted to come back to Italy because the situation at Chelsea was not easy. In that period Abramovich was not allowed to go to England. I only saw him at games abroad. We had some telephone calls but not very often.

"My point of reference was only Marina. There wasn’t a sporting director so the situation was not so clear. So I wanted to come back to Italy but it was a mistake.

"It would have been better to stay there. I was a little worried about the situation with Chelsea, the situation inside the club. It was not clear. I asked Marina if it was possible to go back to Italy and Marina asked for some money from Juventus to set me free.

"They said if I wanted to stay at Chelsea it was possible. But at the end of the season with Chelsea it was a good experience and good results. We got third place in the Premier League table, reached the final of the Carabao Cup and won the Europa League. We played a lot of good matches.

"Of course at times there were two or three disasters, like at Manchester against City, like at Bournemouth. Now I am ready to start again. I don’t know where at the moment. But me and the staff are ready."

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