Maurizio Sarri tells Chelsea: Sack me now if my job rests on Europa League Final result

In charge: Maurizio Sarri
AFP/Getty Images
Simon Johnson22 May 2019

Maurizio Sarri has told Chelsea they should sack him now if his job depends solely on the outcome of the Europa League final.

Sarri’s position at Stamford Bridge has been uncertain for several months despite having another year left on his contract with the option for another 12 months.

Juventus, AC Milan and Roma are all keen to lure the 60-year-old back to Serie A and are expected to make a formal approach after the Europa League final .

Despite qualifying for the Champions League via a third-place finish and reaching the EFL Final on top of his run in Europe, Sarri hasn’t been popular with many Chelsea fans. The club also considered sacking him earlier this year.

It has been mooted that Sarri’s tenure could depend on whether Chelsea beat London rivals Arsenal in Baku next Wednesday.

But Sarri said: “If the situation is like this I want to go immediately. You cannot... 10 months of work, and then I have to play everything in 90 minutes? It's not right. It's not the right way. You're either happy about my work or you're not happy.”

The 60-year-old gave mixed messages when he was asked whether he actually wanted to remain at Stamford Bridge.

He spoke with owner Roman Abramovich during the club’s trip to Boston last week, but only after the game against New England Revolution to discuss the nature of Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s injury.

Sarri added: “My future is Wednesday, I think. I need to think only about the final at this moment. I have two years of contract here, so I have no contract with other clubs at the moment.

“I have to speak at my club first of all after the final. I want to know if they are happy with me or not. That is it. I have two more years of contract.

“As I said before, I'm very happy to stay in the Premier League. Chelsea are one of the most important clubs in the Premier League.

“But we have to discuss about the situation. But it's normal. In every season, you have to discuss the situation with the club. You do it like this.

“About the meeting (with the club), I don't know the date. If there will be a meeting, even. The situation is clear: I have a contract. In my opinion it would be better to speak about the season, but the situation is clear.”

Sarri didn’t have the benefit of working a full pre-season at Chelsea on taking over last summer as he was only appointed in July – after predecessor Antonio Conte was sacked.

With many of the squad also having extended time off following the World Cup, it did affect the way he prepared for the campaign.

Given that he led Chelsea to third in the top flight as well as two major finals, it would be some decision to part ways.

Sarri certainly feels he has done well under the circumstances and added: “I think that we had a good season, with a lot of problems of course. We lost two or three matches very, very badly.

“But we finished the Premier League in third position. We got to the final of the League Cup, a very difficult competition because we played against Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool. Now we have the possibility to play the final of the Europa League.

“So the season is a very good season. If we win, it will become a wonderful season. I think this group deserve to continue to try to improve more.

“I don't know the situation about the (criticism from) fans and the media. Probably, one is a consequence of the other. I don't know what to say or to do. I can only work.

“I can only try and improve my team. I can only try to play better, to win more matches. I don't know what to do more.

“Of course we have to do more. We need to improve more. I don't know what to say about the market. My future is the final. I am not able in this moment to think about next season or more. I am only able to think about the final because my feeling is, for our group, this final is really very important.”

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