Chelsea star Willian reveals how his mum dying made glory season the toughest of his life
Brazil star lost weight and struggled to reproduce last season’s stellar form after Donna Zee died in October following a battle with cancer
WILLIAN has revealed how his mum dying made Chelsea’s glory season the toughest of his life.
The Brazil star lost weight and struggled to reproduce last season’s stellar form after Donna Zee, 57, died in October following a 2½-year battle with cancer.
He posted a touching poem on Instagram which received more than 90,000 likes in just seven hours.
But only now has the attacking midfielder revealed the full extent of his grief.
He said: “This has been the toughest season of my career. It was very hard to play football after my mother passed away.
“I was so emotional and physically I didn’t feel good. I lost weight even though I was still eating similar things.
“Of course there were times I didn’t want to eat because I was thinking about things so much.
“It was the stress of what I’d been through.
“Now it feels like there have been two sides to the past year. One was very difficult but the other has been amazing because Chelsea have won a trophy and we hope to add another.
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“I feel like the sun is shining again. I still have to go day by day but I always try to look forward, not behind.”
Willian, 28, is set to face Arsenal tomorrow as champions Chelsea chase the Double.
And he paid tribute to friends and family who helped him through the pain — plus boss Antonio Conte and his Blues team-mates.
He said: “I had so much help — from God, Jesus Christ, my wife and two daughters, my dad, my sister and friends.
“But my team-mates and everyone at the club were great with me also.
“They did so in little ways, with a hug or just by talking to me. They would give me the words to help me be strong and it was important for me.
“I spoke with the coach and he was very supportive. He sent me a message when it first happened and did other things to get me through it.
“I was given the time to come back, to recover. After one or two months I started to play again, started to play well.”