WILLIAN has revealed he wants to stay at Chelsea until he’s 40 years old, while ruling out a January exit despite being linked with Barcelona.
The Brazilian winger, 31, is out of contract in the summer and has often been singled out for criticism by Blues fans in the past few months.
But Willian has told Sky Sports he wants to remain at the club until he’s 40 on the back of his match-winning performance against Tottenham.
The former Shakhtar Donetsk star scored twice, one screamer and a penalty, as he downed former boss Jose Mourinho in North London.
Willian has been at Chelsea since 2013 and has gone on to make 315 appearances for the club, scoring 57 times and winning two Premier League titles crowned with the 2018-19 Europa League.
However, his future – along with fellow veteran winger Pedro – appears to be up in the air.
With their contracts up in June, they could leave on a free transfer or even start pre-contract negotiations with other clubs next month.
The emergence of young wingers such as Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic looked to hamper Willian’s game-time.
But the Brazilian has played 23 times in all competitions this season, scoring five times, proving he still has what it takes.
Earlier this month, Willian – the Blues’ 2015-16 Player of the Season – revealed he had kicked off negotiations over a new contract.
Both Barcelona and Juventus – under the leadership of former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri – are interested in bringing the 70-cap international to the club.
Barca had lined-up an audacious 55m bid for Willian in 2018, but were knocked back by Blues officials.
And in October of this year, he claimed: “Im very happy here at Chelsea.
“Of course my contract is ending now, at the end of the season its over. But Im happy at Chelsea and I plan to stay out here.”
