Maurizio Sarri resets the narratives ahead of Chelsea’s final

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri had his last press conference of the season ahead of the Europa League final. He has reset the narratives building up.

The wait between the last league match and the Europa League final is ridiculously long. Downtime like that, such as during international breaks and the off season, becomes fertile ground for narratives to grow.

Almost every narrative has a source, usually a rumor. In this case several which started in Italy before the English outlets picked them up on their end. When Matt Law, Simon Johnson, and Nizaar Kensella are all saying that Chelsea will not sack Maurizio Sarri but will allow offers on him, then there is a whole lot of smoke to imply that there is also a fire.

Strangely, most of these reports were met with denial among Chelsea fans. Many still responded to them by saying they could not believe Sarri would be sacked. Just as the narrative started to shift towards the realization that he would not be, Sarri himself has hit reset thanks to his comments in his pre Europa League final presser.

In response to a question about being sacked if the final is lost, Sarri said “If the situation is like this, I want to go immediately.” He added in some bits about wanting to stay in the Premier League for good measure. Now, just as the understanding had shifted towards his future being up to him, Sarri has flipped it back onto the club.

The truth, so far as has been reported, is that Chelsea is only looking at Frank Lampard as a contingency if Sarri chooses to go. But Sarri has now poured gasoline on the fire of it being the club’s decision rather than his own. This will shape new narratives going forward.

Now, if Sarri opts to leave for Juventus or outright quits, the club will look at fault. The fans that booed Sarri will be blamed for not supporting another manager (though that has not happened since Rafa Benitez who also finished third and won a Europa League on his way out, an achievement Sarri could match). The board will be blamed for not delaying the transfer ban, which goes against Sarri’s alleged lack of interest in the market (itself proven false when the board conceded and brought Gonzalo Higuain against their own judgement).

But if Chelsea is not interested in sacking Sarri, and an Italian club buys out his contract, then the responsibility is on Sarri. His most fervent supporters will attempt to blame the club or the fans for “forcing him out” but no matter how it is painted, all signs are pointing towards this being Sarri’s decision. That is more power than Benitez got for a similar situation and Benitez was quite clear about wanting to stay right up to the end of his contract.

But will Sarri be held accountable for his decision? Or will he be absolved of his own actions once again? Given that the narrative is already flipping back towards a refusal to believe it would be anything but a sacking, the latter is a safer bet for now.