Cesc Fabregas wishes he had played under Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri before now.
The 31-year-old playmaker featured under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, Pep Guardiola at Barcelona and Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte at Chelsea.
But Sarri, a 59-year-old heavy-smoking former banker, has revitalised Fabregas.
“I wish he came a bit earlier to be honest, it’s a little bit late now in my career. Definitely I’m very happy with him,” Fabregas said.
Jorginho followed Sarri from Napoli to Chelsea, displacing Fabregas as Chelsea’s central midfield pivot. But with Chelsea hoping to do well in all competitions this season, Fabregas can have a key role.
Fabregas, who played in Thursday’s 1-0 Europa League win over Hungarian champions Vidi, said: “Everything goes through me. This is what I like. I feel sensations under Sarri that I never thought I would feel again.
“Touching the ball 100 times, all the play going through me or Jorginho is a very important role for him, I’m learning it, I’m very passionate about it as it’s very interesting.
“The way he sees football is something that maybe in the future if I become a coach I think I’ll do something very similar to what he does. It’s what I like and how I see football.
“I’m learning a lot from here, it’s really interesting how he works and I’m really looking forward to working for a long time with him.”
Fabregas’ Chelsea contract expires at the end of this season, though.
Asked whether he wishes to stay at Stamford Bridge, Fabregas added: “I’d love to stay at the club. I’ve been very happy for the last four years and a half, we’ve had great success, won many things.
“I feel I still have a lot of football left in me but it is now up to the club.”