Chelsea star Willian has hit out at his former-club Shakhtar Donetsk for refusing to sell Alex Teixeira to Liverpool.
The Brazilian striker was wanted by the Premier League side, but Shakhtar refused to budge on their £38million asking-price, meaning any proposed deal collapsed with Liverpool only prepared to pay £31m.
The Reds had three formal bids turned down for Teixeira before the striker completed a shock move to China earlier this month after Jiangsu Suning agreed to meet the asking-price.
Willian used to play with Teixeira for Shakhtar, but then he left in order to join Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala, before joining Chelsea for £30m back in 2013.
Speaking about his former-teammate and former-club, Willian hit out at their decision to block Teixeira’s move to Anfield.
“They prefer to sell to small clubs that can afford a higher fee than selling them to traditional clubs that wouldn’t pay the same amount of money,” Willian told Squawka.
“That’s the case for Teixeira, and it has also happened with me.
“I know myself how difficult it is to negotiate with Shakhtar Donetsk. I suffered for two years there willing to leave the club.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt