Jorge Sampaoli has revealed that he was approached by Roman Abramovich regarding the Chelsea manager’s position, but Sampaoli turned down the offer.
Chelsea, after months of negotiations following the sacking of Jose Mourinho, eventually went for Antonio Conte. Conte will take over after Euro 2016 this summer.
However, it could have worked out very different, according to Sampaoli, who also claimed that he was also in talks with Boca Juniors.
Sampaoli, in an interview on Fox Sports Radio Argentina, claimed that he met with Blues owner Abramovich, and was even offered the position before Conte was eventually selected.
Sampaoli, 56, said: ‘The proposal that the closest I’ve been to accepting was that of Chelsea.
“It was a good project, we met with the president (Abramovich) but it did not work.
“The offer was for a style of play but I told Angelici (Daniel, president of Boca Juniors) in the short term this would not happen.”
Sampaoli resigned as manager of the Chile national team earlier this year, after winning the 2015 Copa America. He was also on the 2015 FIFA World Coach Of The Year shortlist, along with Pep Guardiola and eventual winner Luis Enrigue.
By Steve Osborne @BlizzardSteve75
