Brazilian outlet UOL this week has a pretty long interview with Shanghai SIPG midfielder Oscar.
The 29-year-old recalled his whole career, from his time in South America playing for Internacional and São Paulo, and especially his years at Chelsea.
Oscar was signed in a €32m deal back in 2012. He’s revealed that he’d been in talks with a couple of other clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, but the Blues convinced him over a move.
“Europe’s interest was big. I was talking to Tottenham and Real Madrid, but if I went to Real, I’d have to fight for positions with guys like Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, it’d be very difficult. Chelsea also made a proposal. They had a very qualified team, but they called me and said that I’d have my space. I made the right choice,” Oscar told UOL.
“We won the Premier League twice, a Europa League, an FA Cup. I was very happy there. I played more than 200 games, it was a beautiful story.”
However, there was a time when he started being benched, and that’s what convinced him about listening to offers from abroad.
“In my last season at Chelsea, I started as a starter. There were 12 games, but I had an injury and I was out for a while. That year, Conte was the coach, and Chelsea would become league champions. I came back from injury, and the team was winning a lot. I asked Conte: ‘am I going to play again?’. He replied ‘let’s wait for the team to lose’. Only Chelsea just didn’t lose!
“At that time, Simeone wanted to take me, and Juventus were also interested. They talked to my agent, and I got close to Atletico, but Chelsea refused to sell, asked for 50, 60 million euros, and at the time nobody paid that.”
In four and a half years at Chelsea, Oscar made 203 appearances, with a record of 38 goals and 37 assists. He left the Blues in a €60m move for Shanghai in January 2017, and explains that he had to fight to get the transfer done.
“It was then that a proposal came from China. It wasn’t Shanghai’s offer yet, but it caught my attention. Very good proposal, but I thought it was not the time yet. A month later Shanghai came, and I had to insist with Chelsea to go because they didn’t want to. They accepted because of my good relationship at the club. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I was on the bench – and I don’t like being on the bench.”
Oscar also talked about his plans for the future, since it’s not his intention to stay a lot longer in China. His contract with Shanghai runs until 2024.
“My family and I are adapted here in Shanghai, but living a lifetime here is not in my plans. I always have proposals from Europe and I think about living in a place that we can live in later, and which is closer to Brazil, that will weigh on my future decision.”
