Carlo Ancelotti claimed that England was ‘more enjoyable’ with ‘less pressure’ than Italy and therefore that leaving Milan for Chelsea ‘wasn’t hard.’
In his first season, Carletto led the Blues to their first-ever Premier League and FA Cup domestic double.
“It’s definitely more enjoyable [managing in the Premier League],” he told Sky Sports. “The supporters are less pressing here and the atmosphere in England is better.
“After nine years, I returned to Italy and it didn’t change much, the pressure is the same and there is a lot of violence with the supporters.
“Italian football is trying to change but it’s not easy to change the culture of a country where violence and assault are unfortunately still taking place.
“The people at the stadium here in England, and I’m only talking about them at the stadium, are more respectful.
“I wanted to return to Italy in the first place [after leaving Bayern]. I had an experience in Naples and it was a good experience there, but if I had to choose a league, I wanted to return to the Premier League because of the atmosphere you feel here.”
The 60-year-old won two Champions Leagues with Milan in the summer of 2009. Moving to Chelsea was still an easy decision for him. Why?
“I think it was the right choice from both sides [when they decided to leave for Chelsea]. It wasn’t that hard as I needed to change after eight years and at the same time, maybe the club needed to change so we decided to do it together.
“It was the right time to make a decision, I wanted to have a new experience outside Italy so I had the chance to go to Chelsea. But it was a good decision, choosing wasn’t hard.’
In December 2019 Ancelotti ended nearly a decade spent away from the Premier League when he was named the coach of Everton, a month after his messy divorce from Napoli:
“It really was important to have had the opportunity to come to Everton. Everton is a club with a fantastic history, a fantastic tradition and a goal for them to be at the top.
“We’re trying, if we can do our best after the COVID [shutdown].”
