Former Chelsea forward Alexandre Pato has provided an honest assessment of his time at Stamford Bridge, admitting he 'would've gone elsewhere' if he knew his six-month loan would not be made into a permanent transfer.
The forward joined the Blues in January 2016 but only went on to make a handful of appearances for Chelsea during an unsuccessful spell.
Speaking to the Players' Tribune, Pato delivered an honest verdict on his time at Chelsea.
When asked about the move to Chelsea from Sao Paulo, he said: "You know why I played so much better at São Paulo? They looked after me properly. There I just had to play. But when Chelsea called me, I was still dreaming of Europe.
"Unfortunately, I paid the price again for being overprotected."
The Brazilian was one of the brightest young talents when he burst on the scene during his time at AC Milan before suffering an injury which impacted his career.
After a spell in Brazil, Pato joined Chelsea in January of 2016 for a six-month loan spell.
The now Orlando City forward revealed that he believed his loan spell would be made permanent on a three-year contract rather than return to Brazil at the end of his Chelsea stint.
"I still didn’t get it," he continued when asked about his time at Chelsea.
"I thought that Chelsea would loan me for six months and then I’d sign for three years. I didn’t realise that they could say no after the loan."
Pato finalised by admitting that he would've chosen to move elsewhere if he knew that his spell in London would only last six months.
"Had I known? I would have gone elsewhere. It was a pity, because I was training really well, and the coach only played me twice. I never understood why," he finalised.
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