David Luiz has confessed that he would likely have left Chelsea this summer had Maurizio Sarri not replaced Antonio Conte in the dugout.
The Brazilian centre-back made just 10 Premier League starts during Conte's last season at the Stamford Bridge helm, a year on from playing a pivotal role in the club's title success.
Luiz has adapted well to new boss Sarri's system, however, playing all 270 minutes of the Italian's reign thus far, and the 31-year-old has suggested that he has become a better player after the difficulties experienced in 2017-18.
"I think I always have to feel fresh start because I am getting old!" he told Sky Sports News. "It is amazing to play football, of course last season was not the best for me inside the pitch, but also I learned a lot outside the pitch as a person, as a man. It is always great to be on the pitch. I learned a lot. Sometimes you have to be patient, sometimes you have to take care of your body, sometimes you have to learn from outside to be good in the future.
"So for me it was great. I got time to take care of my body; many times I was on the pitch in pain, and I never refused to play one game. It was good to rest and be fresh. If the manager had stayed the same, of course, everybody knows maybe I had to move clubs. Now I am here and so happy.
"The ambition has to be to win every single match, every single competition, this is Chelsea we can't think in a different way but we also have to have humility to understand we're at the beginning of a new philosophy, so we start day-by-day every single week. I think every coach comes with new stuff and can improve and help us and of course Sarri are already taught me many things I never saw before.
"It's great to understand football - it never stops - since I started playing football I always learn from every coach, it's great. He just gives to [the public] 5% of the idea, he's not going to give you 100% of the idea, one of the parts of the idea is to focus on the ball and different parts of the pitch, you have to understand the movement."
Luiz's compatriot Willian also admitted earlier this month that his future at Chelsea depended on whether or not Conte stayed in charge.
Daniel Lewis
