Maurizio Sarri has branded his departure from English side Chelsea as the biggest mistake of his career.
Sarri left the Stamford Bridge club in June 2019, after spending just one season with the London-based team.
Maurizio Sarri led Chelsea to win the UEFA Europa League, defeating rivals Arsenal in the final by 4-1, courtesy of goals from Olivier Giroud, Pedro Rodriguez, and a brace from Eden Hazard.
Sarri had also led the Blues to the Carabao Cup final during the 2018/19 season, before ultimately losing on penalties to Manchester City.
Maurizio Sarri opted to leave Chelsea at the end of the campaign to return to his home country to join Italian giants Juventus.
His spell with the Bianconeri wasn’t in entirety bad, as he led the Turin-based club to the Serie A title in the 2019/20 season.
However, Sarri was dismissed after failing to qualify Juventus for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Reports did indicate that the decision to fire the Italian was influenced by most of the players expressing their displeasure over his coaching style.
Maurizio Sarri Regrets Leaving Chelsea
Anyway, Maurizio Sarri looks to be regretting his move away from the Premier League, and during an interview with Sky Italia, the Italian said his project at Chelsea was great, as such he should have remained at Stamford Bridge.
He said: “Leaving Chelsea has been my biggest mistake.
“There was a good basis to stay there and continue at the club, I made a big mistake at that moment.
“We won the Europa League, the project was great but I wanted to return to Italy, unfortunately.”
The 65-year-old was born in Naples, Italy, on January 10, 1959, and he was formerly a banker before taking up the job of coaching on a full-time basis, having also in the past being involved with football.
Maurizio Sarri has managed about 21 teams thus far in his managerial career, including; Empoli, Napoli, Juventus, Verona, and Lazio.
Sarri has won just two major trophies in his coaching career, namely; 1 UEFA Europa League, and 1 Serie A title.
The former Perugia boss was voted the Serie A Coach of the Year in the 2016/17 campaign.
Maurizio Sarri is currently managing no club, having resigned as head coach of Lazio in March 2024.
Sarri has been linked with managerial jobs at Newcastle United and Sevilla, although reports claimed that the Italian tactician received four offers from the Premier League before exiting Lazio.
It would be fascinating to see his next career move, given that a series of clubs are in the market in search of a top manager.
Erik Ten Hag’s future at Manchester United remains uncertain, and Brighton are also looking to appoint a successor to Roberto De Zerbi, who left the Seagulls at the end of the 2023/24 campaign by mutual agreement.
