Chelsea trolled by Danilo to suggest a lack of drawing power
Chelsea and Manchester City were in the race to sign Danilo and the full-back has now revealed that choosing the latter was an easy decision.
At one point, Danilo appeared to be a medical away from penning a Chelsea contract. However, some days passed and he signed for Manchester City. Speaking about his move, the full-back has revealed that it wasn’t a hard choice to make.
"It wasn’t a difficult decision to choose City over Chelsea,. The moment City called me and Pep called me, I knew what I had to do. Pep’s words motivated me to be ready for this. – via Sky Sports"
Although Danilo should be expected to talk up his new club, the fact that he has almost gone out of his way to make such a statement is striking. Moreover, it seems to follow the pattern set by Romelu Lukaku and indicates that Chelsea are still not as appealing as their rivals.
Danilo has pointed to Pep Guardiola as the key factor in his City switch. After speaking to the Spanish tactician, his mind was set on joining the free-spending Citizens. Even though they have a wealth of talent in defence, making it harder to secure a starting spot, Danilo wanted that transfer more than one to West London.
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Similarly, Lukaku was on the verge of sealing a return to Chelsea. Manchester United then swooped in and stole the Belgian from under Blue noses. The allure of playing for arguably the biggest club in the world, and under Jose Mourinho, outweighed the positives at Stamford Bridge.
With failures to sign the likes of Alex Sandro and Radja Nainggolan, the Blues appear to be struggling to sell their package. Starting with the manager, only players who have previously played under Antonio Conte seem keen to rejoin him over alternative options. Alvaro Morata is an example of that.
However, that does not even consistently hold. Chelsea were in the market for Leonardo Bonucci, but the Italian ended up joining AC Milan instead. There are other factors involved in that deal, such as an unwillingness to relocate family, but the trend is clear. Chelsea cannot draw stars as well as their rivals.
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The club may need another prolonged period of success to raise their profile. Chelsea are still one of the biggest clubs in the world, but players are choosing rival teams (and rival managers) over Conte and the Blues. As all football clubs become richer and more willing to splash the cash, non-financial factors will become the differentiators.