Chelsea hero Willian makes surprising claim about Frank Lampard | Football

Former Chelsea and Arsenal star Willian has named Frank Lampard as the best manager he played under at Stamford Bridge – aside from Jose Mourinho.

The Brazil winger enjoyed a trophy-filled seven year spell in west London, scoring 63 goals and making 58 assists in 339 appearances.

Signed by Mourinho in 2013, he lifted the Premier League and League Cup, before winning another league title and the FA Cup under Antonio Conte and the Europa League with Maurizio Sarri.

Yet, it was the one, trophy-less season he played under former teammate Lampard that he treasures most, despite the now Coventry City boss having a far inferior record to his predecessors.

‘He was top. For me, at Chelsea, after Mourinho, he was the best,’ Willian, 38, said on The Obi One podcast.

‘He literally gave me the key [the freedom to express myself]. I was the captain in some games.

‘Very good [in training], intense sessions, short games, possession… very good. And that year we finished fourth with a transfer ban, with the young players. He was good.

‘He gave me the key and said, “I trust you. I want you to help the young players, I want you to be the leader.” But I’m not a guy that’s going to scream, I’m more quiet. But he said that to me, “I want you to be the leader”.’

Despite enjoying his most prolific season in the Premier League under Lampard, Willian then joined rivals Arsenal on a free, a move he has reiterated was ‘a big mistake’.

‘First, I left the club because Chelsea wanted to give me a two [year contract], I wanted three,’ Willian added. ‘It was not because of money, it was because I wanted one [more] year.

‘And then the other side, Arsenal were meeting with my agent, and they wanted to give me three years.

‘I met Mikel Arteta, I met everyone there. And they said, “we want you to be the main guy”. Arteta said to me: “We’re going to play like this, and I want you to be the main guy, I will build the team around you, I want to give you the key to the club”.

‘When I heard that, obviously I love Chelsea, but I was in the last year of my contract, I was 32, and I was thinking three more years in London, stay with my family in London, they love London. And then I decided.

‘To be honest I should have stayed but at that moment I was thinking maybe the best solution is to go there, and I signed for three years there but it was not good.’

Willian departed the Emirates after just one season before returning to London to play for Fulham over two spells.

After qualifying for the Champions League and reaching the FA Cup final in the 2019/20 season, Chelsea sacked Lampard the following campaign, replacing him with Thomas Tuchel.

The legendary Chelsea and England midfielder returned to his beloved Blues as an interim boss in 2023 but would win just one of his 11 games in charge before rebuilding his managerial career at Coventry.

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