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Sevilla boss Jorge Sampaoli was a heavy favourite to get the Chelsea job and the Argentine has revealed that he quit as manager of Chile because he wanted to become Chelsea manager.

He guided Chile to their first ever Copa America win in 2015 and held private talks with Roman Abramovich took take over as Chelsea boss after Jose Mourinho’s sack.

“It was like a tsunami of events, a really turbulent period. The Chilean Federation wanted to keep me no matter what,” Sampaoli told The Sun.

“But I explained I could not stay as there was a chance of becoming Chelsea manager

“I had other options but when Mr [Roman] Abramovich came to talk I was high on his list and then came the decision to go with [Antonio] Conte.”