‘Japanese Messi’ reveals why he turned down move to Chelsea

Yoshinori Muto has revealed that he chose a move to Mainz ahead of Chelsea because he doesn’t believe he would get in to the team at Stamford Bridge, reports the Daily Star.

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Described by some as the ‘Japanese Messi’, he had the chance to move to the Premier League champions for £4 million, but chose to go to the mid-table Bundesliga side from Tokyo FC instead. This was after Blues boss Jose Mourinho hinted that their transfer bid was commercially motivated, presumably to gain more fans in the far East.

Muto said: “I wanted to keep my expectation realistic and play for a team that fits my level.”

Indeed, the forward would have had a lot of competition at Stamford Bridge. Diego Costa has the main striker role tied down, while Eden Hazard is a sure fire starter on the left wing.

One area in which Muto could have got in to the side would have been out on the right, but even there the Capital One Cup winners have both Willian and Juan Cuadrado. Both joined Chelsea for significantly more than £4 million in recent transfer windows, perhaps showing they would have been prefered to the 22-year-old.