Chelsea’s Willian on Sunday confirmed his departure from the club with an open letter for his fans saying “time has now come to move on”. Willian took to Instagram to say, “They were seven wonderful years. In August 2013 when I received the offer from Chelsea, I was convinced that this was where I had to play. Today I am certain that it was the best of decisions. There were so many happy times, some sad, there were trophies and it was always very intense.”

“Yet, beyond the trophies, I learnt a lot about myself. I developed a great deal, becoming a better player and a better person. With each training session, with each game, with every minute spent in the dressing room, I was always learning,” he added.

Willian, who turned 32 on Sunday, said during his time with the club, he received both affection and criticism which drove him to give his best at all times.

“I am really grateful to the Chelsea fans for the affectionate way they welcomed me at Stamford Bridge and their support throughout my time at the club. There was also criticism, which is normal, what is important though is that both the affection and criticism drove me to always give my all in every training session, every game, to be constantly improving until my very last minute in a Chelsea shirt!” he said.

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“The time has now come to move on. I am certainly going to miss my teammates. I will miss all the staff at the club who’ve always treated me like a son and I will miss the fans. I leave with my head held high, safe in the knowledge that I won things here, and always did my best in a Chelsea shirt!” Willian added.

Bayern Munich trounced Chelsea 4-1 at the Allianz Arena on Sunday to seal a 7-1 aggregate victory in their Champions League last-16 tie.