VfL Wolfsburg forward Andre Schurrle has revealed the reason he quit Premier League champions Chelsea FC after only 18 months in the team.
The 24-year old Schurrle said he quit because manager Jose Mourinho did not show that he had faith in him to succeed at the club.
The Germany international stated that he felt he did not perform too badly while at the club not to gain the manager’s confidence.
Schurrle, who was used mostly from the bench by the Portuguese tactician, scored 11 goals in 44 appearances for the club and felt he could have achieved more.
“My performances were good… but there was a time in my second season when I felt I didn’t have the manager’s trust any more, and didn’t play many matches from the start,” he said.
“I don’t know why Mourinho didn’t trust me. It all felt a bit weird to me. I started a few games, was on the bench for a few, then started some more.
“It was up and down the whole time. I didn’t get any consistency from the manager so found it hard to produce my best.
“That’s probably the biggest reason I wanted to leave,” Schurrle noted.
Furthermore, he said Eden Hazard’s form also contributed partially to his inability to tie down a regular shirt at the club.
He believed the manager gave the Belgium international freedom that he did not give the other wingers in the team.
This he said piled pressure on them to perform and therefore affected their game.
“It’s difficult for young players at Chelsea because they’re a big team with big stars. It’s not easy to play every match,” the former Bayern Leverkusen man averred.
“It’s even harder for the wingers as there are only two in the team and Eden plays always, as he’s the best player in the league.
“So you have one position on the right wing which was between Willian, Oscar, myself, sometimes Mata, occasionally De Bruyne.
“The other thing is that Eden is given more freedom so the other winger has to work even harder. You have to work for that freedom, and Eden deserves it as he creates everything up front.
“He scores goals and makes assists so it’s right he should have that freedom,” Schurrle declared.