‘There are moments when money isn’t so important’: Willian opens up on why he walked away from £20MILLION to quit Arsenal, as he blames his transfer flop on ‘not being happy’ after leaving Chelsea for a move across London
- Willian endured a miserable spell at Arsenal following his move from Chelsea
- The Brazilian walked away from £20m and tore up his contract back in 2020
- Willian said he took the step in order to pursue ‘happiness’ after his Arsenal stint
Willian has opened up on his big financial sacrifice as he walked away from £20m to terminate his contract at Arsenal and seal a move to Brazilian side Corinthians in the summer of 2020.
The 33-year-old had two years left on his £240,000-a-week Arsenal contract but instead of staying at the Emirates or asking for a pay-off, he decided to tear up his contract.
As well as saving Arsenal a massive amount of money, the Brazilian international took a significant pay cut at his new side.
Willian walked out on his massive Arsenal contract in order to force through a return to Brazil
Discussing his torrid time at Arsenal with FourFourTwo magazine, Willian said it was a small price to pay in order to pursue ‘happiness’.
He said: ‘There are moments in life when the money isn’t so important and you need to focus on what makes you happy; to look for a place where you have some pleasure working.
‘That’s something I didn’t have there, and staying only for the money isn’t something I’m capable of doing – there are many other things that come first for me.
Willian made 37 appearances for the Gunners before forcing an exit in the summer of 2020
‘I thought to myself that I couldn’t stay just because of a contract – after all, if I did, where would my motivation, my pleasure and my well-being go?
‘So that’s what I had in mind. Everybody saw what I left behind in order to pursue my happiness again.’
The winger revealed he was ‘super excited’ to join the Gunners after a successful seven-year stint at rivals Chelsea.
But he found out over time the move wasn’t going to work out like he had first hoped.
He failed to replicate the success he had at Chelsea where he won two Premier League titles
He said: ‘I wasn’t happy there, and when you’re not happy in a place, it doesn’t matter how much you try – you’re not going to be able to deliver what people expect of you.
‘We had a great project and believed that it would work out, but it didn’t, and so I chose to leave and do what was best for me.’
Willian added: ‘I wasn’t happy, and that’s an important factor in a footballer’s life. When you’re feeling like that, there’s really no way you’re going to perform well, unfortunately.’
During his one-year at the Emirates, Willian made 37 appearances in all competitions scoring just one goal.
In his prior seven-year spell at Stamford Bridge, he scored 63 goals in 339 appearances and lifted the Premier League on two occasions.
