Tiago confirms that he turned down summer Mourinho approach.
Former Chelsea midfielder Tiago has revealed that he turned down the opportunity to return to the club this summer, report ESPN, deciding instead to extend his contract with Atletico Madrid because playing at the Vicente Calderon makes him feel “important”.
SEE MORE:
FIFA 15 player ratings released.
Jose Mourinho claims that Chelsea are at a financial disadvantage.
Chelsea news
The experienced playmaker was one of Jose Mourinho’s first signings when he initially arrived at Chelsea from FC Porto, with the player’s intelligent covering of space in midfield and use of possession impressing his compatriot.
He made just 34 appearances for the Blues, however, before going on to enjoy successful spells with Olympique Lyonnais and Juventus before moving to the Spanish capital in 2011, topping his spell in Spain off by helping Atletico to lift the La Liga title last season.
With his contract having expired during the summer, a return to Stamford Bridge looked likely, and the player has now confirmed that he had an offer on the table from Chelsea:
“At the end of last season, I received a great offer and it made me think about making a change. But I realised that the most important thing was to feel important at a club.”
Tiago eventually decided to extend his contract with Atletico, however, seemingly because of the importance that he feels when pulling on the club’s shirt – with a move to Chelsea likely to mean less first team football due to the impressive central midfield partnership that is developing between Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas at Stamford Bridge.