David Luiz will leave Chelsea in the summer after Sarri fails in battle with board to keep defender
Blues boss fails to convince Stamford Bridge hierarchy to change policy of only offering players over the age of 30 a one-year contract extension
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MAURIZIO SARRI has reportedly lost his battle with the Chelsea board to keep hold of defender David Luiz.
And now the Brazilian is set to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer on a free transfer.
The 31-year-old is out of contract in June and Blues boss Sarri was desperate to keep hold of the flamboyant centre-half.
But the claim Chelsea’s new policy on deals for over-30s means Luiz will exit West London in six months’ time.
The FA Cup holders have implemented a new strategy where they are only offering one-year extensions to those over the above age limit.
Cesc Fabregas also falls into the same bracket and is likely to follow his South American team-mate out the door.
Sarri allegedly has attempted to change the policy but his pleas have been ignored, according to today’s report.
And now he looks like he will be without one of his key men when the next season gets underway due to Luiz wanted a longer-term extension.
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When quizzed about Luiz and Fabregas recently, Sarri revealed his hopes of reaching a solution.
The Italian said: “I spoke with the club about this one month ago. I know very well that it's not easy, but I think we can do a new deal for both.
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“They are very important players for us. It is very difficult to find a centre-back for this level and it is very difficult to find a centre-midfielder technically like Fabregas, so I think they have to stay with us.
“The deal is very difficult for this reason [both players are over 30 years of age]. The club wants a short contract and the players want a long contract.
“It is difficult for this reason but I think we can find a solution.”