When Brazilian footballers move to Europe, it’s common to see many of them saying they miss their home country. Normally because of the food, the people, and especially the weather, players often return to South America as soon as they think they’ve done enough in top level football.
But this doesn’t seem to be the case for Willian. The midfielder, who left Brazil to join Ukrainian side Shakhtar in 2007, also played in Russia for Anzhi before moving to Chelsea in 2013. And he’s not thinking of returning to Brazil soon.
“I got to know Café Brazil through David Luiz, who showed me when I arrived at Chelsea, then I ended up going there with my family to eat, and whenever I have time I’m passing by,” Willian told UOL. “I stop to eat something and see the people who work there, who are very nice people and I ended up getting an affection for them.
“There are some things that draw my attention there, because it has the face of Brazil itself. You can order portions of calabresa, of frango a passarinho, etc. Anyway, it’s the face of Brazil. For that reason, I go there every time I can.”
Questioned about a footballer’s life in London,the Chelsea star said: “Approaches from fans happen, but it is certainly different from Brazil, because it is possible to walk on the streets, the people respect you more, respect your space when you are having time off with the family.
“That’s the difference. Being able to go out, walk and enjoy life with family, go to the mall, go to the restaurant, anyway, there are approaches, but there is respect.”
And when asked if he’d like to join a Brazilian club in the future, the Chelsea player claimed this is not on his mind yet: “I don’t think about going back to live in Brazil now, I am totally adapted here, my family and I really like to live in London, so at the moment I don’t think of going back to Brazil.”
