Chelsea’s two-time Premier League title winner Oscar has opened up on his decision to snub Tottenham in favour of a move to Stamford Bridge.
Spurs were the first team to contact Oscar about a move to the Premier League after he emerged as a star at Brazilian side Internacional.
Then-Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas called Oscar personally to try to convince him to sign for the north London club.
But Oscar then received an offer from Chelsea and says it was a relatively straightforward decision to reject Tottenham and join the Blues.
Chelsea spent around £25m to bring Oscar to west London and the Brazilian playmaker proved to be a shrewd signing, making over 200 appearances for the club.
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Asked about his move to the Premier League, Oscar said on former Chelsea teammate John Obi Mikel’s podcast: ‘I had Tottenham as well, Andre Villas-Boas was there.
‘Yes, Villas-Boas was the first one to call me. Wow. I later played with Villas-Boas in China and he always said, “I talked to you, why didn’t you come?”
‘But, you know, Chelsea… I cannot compare. Chelsea is better, so I chose Chelsea. And it was the right choice, because I played good football there, we won some titles that year. So it was amazing.’
Oscar helped Jose Mourinho’s side win the Premier League in 2015 and was a key player when Chelsea won the title two years later under Antonio Conte.
Tottenham, in contrast, finished fifth in what would have been Oscar’s first season at the club and second to Chelsea in 2016-17.
The Brazil international was one of the first high-profile players to move to the Chinese Super League in 2017, signing a deal with Shanghai Port worth over £20m-a-year.
Oscar had eight seasons at Shanghai, scoring 77 goals in 248 games, before returning to his boyhood club Sao Paulo this time last year.
Sao Paulo signed Oscar on a three-year deal but reports claim the midfielder is set to retire due to issues with his heart.
The decision comes after Oscar collapsed during a training session in November and spent five days in hospital being treated for vasovagal syncope, a condition which affects blood pressure and heart rate.
Oscar is not the only Brazilian player to light up Stamford Bridge in recent years, with the likes of Ramires, Willian and Thiago Silva also establishing themselves as firm fans’ favourites.
The latest Brazilian to be adored by Chelsea fans is teenage sensation Estevao Willian, who joined in a £51m move from Palmeiras last summer.
Estevao, 18, is already rated as one of the best young players in the world, having scored five goals for Chelsea and five in 11 appearances for Brazil.
‘He’ is very good,’ Oscar said of Estevao. ‘He has the dribbling, he likes to score goals, has a lot of talent.
‘We need to give him time to adapt in Europe. It’s not easy to arrive there. But he goes to one of the best teams in Europe, so let’s see what happens in the next couple of years.’
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