Tiemoue Bakayoko reveals the real reason he left Chelsea for Milan

@snhw_
15 feb 2019

Tiemoue Bakayoko has undertaken somewhat of a career transformation since joining AC Milan on loan from Chelsea in the summer. The Frenchman, who lacked confidence and the abilities in the Premier League that he had with Monaco in Ligue 1 prior. Chelsea were looking to offload and Leonardo and co. took a huge risk by bringing him to San Siro. However, it has paid off so far, Bakayoko being instrumental to Milan's good form and 4th placed position.

Speaking to French site Bro Stories, Bakayoko opened up about his move:

"I left Chelsea because I felt that the club did not want me anymore. Of course, I was sorry. I've been there for a year, it did not go as I had expected. It was a simple and difficult decision at the same time to be taken because Chelsea are Chelsea and I do not think I have shown my skills, so it is unpleasant. It was an easy decision instead because I do not think the coach was counting on me and Milan is difficult to refuse.

"Transition to Milan? It was all fast, I started and I was not happy but I was not even sad not to play and not be sided by the coach. It all happened quickly from the moment I understood with certainty that Milan wanted me.

"What went wrong at Chelsea? Everything was going right up to a particular moment. It was not a simple thing to live and it was probably my first hard time in my career: to be in a club that does not want you for the following season. It is not simple but I think it is necessary to live moments like these. It helped me a lot to overcome what I'm experiencing now. Now I'm ready to face more difficult moments, I think I'm better prepared.

"I arrived at Milan and I met Maldini, a legend. It was special to be in front of him. Walk into the office and see the trophies. Knowing Milan and experiencing it every day are different things, you know it's not just any club, you know you're in a winning team, with a bulletin board full of trophies.

"Milan is a beautiful city. It's sunny most of the time, winter is quite cold but sunny. The food is great here and this is very important to me. Then Milan is also one of the best cities for fashion and for me it's fun to be here. My life is quite interesting off the field. The city lives on football. There are two Milan clubs, and they are obviously rivals. It's nice to meet people in the city, on the street. There is a great passion. There is blue and there is red. If you walk to San Siro one day it's blue and the day after black. It is different. This is a positive thing."

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