Football is ‘no fun’ without the fans

people in the club via WhatsApp. We have a group in which we receive information, training sheets are placed and we send messages telling them what we have been doing.

“I have kept the training routine every day because we do not know when or under what circumstances the championship will return.

“I run and do some functional training, but it is not the same thing. One day we are in the field training and the next, alone at home. I don’t even have much room for exercise, but I have to keep in shape.

“It is not easy to not be able to do what you like. I got used to playing every middle and weekend at a high level.”

Willian’s Chelsea teammate Callum HudsonOdoi (left) was one of the first players to be diagnosed with coronavirus. When the game went into lockdown, the Brazilian asked the club for permission to fly back to South America to be with his family.

He has admitted that the time he is now spending with his wife Vanessa and daughters Valentina and Manuella is helping him cope with isolation.

Willian added: “I realised that the coronavirus was serious when reading the news that it had arrived in Europe.

“But there was a moment when it really felt real for all of us – when Hudson-Odoi tested positive.

“The club told all of us that we would have to be quarantined, inside the house, without contact with anyone. My family was in Brazil and I was alone for 14 days.

“I tried to find a way to train, which was difficult because in London I live in an apartment. As soon as those two weeks were over, I looked for leaders and asked them to release me to return to Brazil. They agreed.”

He added: “I try to see the bright side. I can do something I couldn’t do before: stay with my wife more, play with my daughters, watch movies every day. But you can see that everyone is scared.

“My only thought is that it will pass soon and that it will end with everyone well and everything will return to normal.

“It can’t be any different. It is a disease that stopped the world and interrupted what we know and love to do – play football,” Willian added.