On his day, Chelsea midfielder Willian is one of his club’s most dangerous players alongside Eden Hazard, providing the Blues with an attacking dynamic that could rival many of the largest clubs in Europe.
The Brazilian has played a major role with Chelsea over the past five seasons, but his relationship with manager Antonio Conte, like many around the club, seems to be on dangerously thin ice.
Ever since Willian was substituted during the FA Cup semi-final against Southampton, in which the 29-year-old proceeded to storm down the tunnel and into the locker room, Conte had started the Brazilian just once, most recently leaving him on the bench during the team’s FA Cup Final win against Manchester United on Saturday.
Willian hasn’t necessarily remained cryptic about his displeasure with Conte in the process of seeing his playing time cut.
When asked about his relationship with the manager by ESPN Brasil, he replied, “Oh boy. Do you really want me to tell you? Let’s save it for the next interview.”
Then came his escapades on Instagram. Shortly after Chelsea secured its eighth FA Cup title with a 1-0 win over United, the third most in the competition’s history, Willian posted a photo on the social media site in which he blocked out his manager with three trophy emojis:
Interesting placement of trophy emojis by Willian here… #cfc pic.twitter.com/yjTpN39Olz
— Liam Twomey (@liam_twomey) May 20, 2018
It’s led many to speculate about the future of the star, who will be representing Brazil in the 2018 World Cup in Russia this summer. However, he may be more inclined to stay in London should Conte be fired, which is a very real possibility. Former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique, Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim and Napoli leading man Maurizio Sarri are already being considered to take over at Stamford Bridge next season, per Tony Banks of the Express.
Even if the Italian manager left though, it still might not be enough to keep Willian in blue.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, who managed Chelsea on two separate occasions, is extremely fond of Willian and attempted to bring him on last year. The two worked together during Mourinho’s second stint at Chelsea from 2013-2015.
