What Jose Mourinho said when Chelsea pipped Tottenham to Willian deal

Tom Doyle12 May 2020

Willian could reunite with Jose Mourinho this summer - and he would end up completing a move that he turned his back on almost seven years ago.

In August 2013, Willian was a player in demand, with the Brazil international set to leave Anzhi Makhachkala for the Premier League.

But Chelsea was not the club he originally opted to sign for, with the then-25-year-old agreeing a deal with Tottenham in principle, and even travelling to north London to have a medical.

Willian had wanted to join Mourinho's Chelsea, but with no other offer on the table, he looked set to join their London rivals.

However, after travelling to Spurs' training ground in a van, Willian met his agent Kia Joorabchian there - and he was told that Chelsea now wanted to sign him.

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Willian had to spend another eight hours at Spurs lodge (with club officials furious at the unfolding events) before he got his dream move to Chelsea - and Mourinho couldn't help rubbing it in at the time.

Before Willian signed his deal with Chelsea, Mourinho - who tried to play it cool, but couldn't help a cheeky grin here and there - told reporters at a press conference: "That's the danger of medicals before contracts.

"But at the same time if you do the contract then the medical after, sometimes you can have a problem by signing a player with problems. So you have to do the medical before, but the best thing to do is to do the medical in secret."

Reporters began laughing at that cheeky jibe, and Mourinho doubled down: "Do the medical in secret. If the player is fine, you can sign him; if the player is not fine, you don't destroy his career by saying to the world the player has some problems.

"So you protect the situation, so you do it in secret, and after that when you sign the contract with the club and with te player you say: 'Done.'

"So when we do it and we make it public, sometimes you don't make it [public], sometimes you guys [the media], you have great sources and find everything, but that's the risk."

Mourinho saved the best for last, however - when asked whether he was expecting the deal to be done sooner rather than later, he cracked up while admitting: "We have to do a medical!"

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Cue more laughs from Mourinho and the gathered journalists... but probably not so many over in north London.

However, Spurs could get a last laugh of sorts this summer, with Willian looking likely to join them from Chelsea for nothing.

The winger is still in fine shape at 32 and wants a three-year contract - but with Chelsea only offering a two-year extension, a reunion with Mourinho looks set to happen.

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