Willian: 'No chance' I would have stayed at Chelsea under Conte

Chelsea winger Willian admits his disagreements with former boss Antonio Conte would have convinced the Brazilian winger to leave had the club brought the manager back this season.

Conte was sacked and replaced by fellow Italian Maurizio Sarri just prior to the start of the 2018-19 campaign, bringing an end to the 49-year-old's time in London with a year remaining on his contract.

But Willian, who confirmed to ESPN earlier this month he was the subject of a bid from Barcelona, candidly revealed he would not still be with the Blues if Conte was still in charge.

"No chance," Willian said, according to the Evening Standard's Simon Johnson. "No. I'm here because I want to play for Chelsea. I will only leave if Chelsea want me to go."

Willian caused a stir in May when he posted a photo to his Instagram story celebrating Chelsea's FA Cup triumph but appeared to deliberately cover up Conte in trophy emojis.

The 30-year-old Brazilian supposedly wasn't alone in his discord with Conte, as David Luiz, Antonio Rudiger, and Diego Costa were all believed to have taken issue with the manager during his Chelsea tenure, with the latter eventually forcing a move to Atletico Madrid as a result.

Willian further suggested Sarri, who took over the Blues this summer after leading Napoli to a second-place finish in Serie A last season, has already begun to implement a more gratifying and familiar style at Chelsea.

"The manager tells us to play, to enjoy ourselves on the pitch, with responsibility," he said. "Now we have a different style ... (Sarri) talked about 'fun' football (on arriving at Chelsea). This is what we will try to do this season.

"Is this like Brazil’s Samba style? Yes. This is what we do in Brazil and are trying to do here, playing with skill and movement."