It’s easy to forget how shocking David Luiz’s exit from Chelsea last summer was.
Not only was he a well-liked member of the squad and a major part of the club’s PR, he was also one of the senior centre-back options in a summer where Chelsea couldn’t sign anyone. He had also signed a new deal just weeks before.
He’s not spoken much about the move since, but SportWitness now have quotes from Brazil where Luiz discusses his second slightly awkward exit from the club.
“I was always very happy at Chelsea. And then the understanding of knowing that my cycle was over, even though I thought it wasn’t going to end that way, in a quick decision. I decided to leave Chelsea before I even had my doors open at Arsenal,” he explained.
“It wasn’t easy at first [leaving Chelsea]. Not only of adaptation, but about taking the criticism, the sadness of many Chelsea fans for not understanding my personal decisions. My respect and love for Chelsea has always been true,” he insisted.
We can’t blame him for wanting to leave if he wasn’t going to play, and there’s not really much of an issue with him joining Arsenal really. The club were happy to accept the offer after all, and Frank Lampard was happy to let him go.
But Luiz has to accept – and it seems like he has – that leaving a team twice is always going to cause a little awkwardness, especially when you join their rivals.
