ANDRE Villas-Boas has thrown his weight behind moves by Chelsea's owners to leave Stamford Bridge – citing his former club Porto as an example of the benefits.
Many Blues fans are anxious that the Chelsea Pitch Owners group do not give up their rights over the stadium, whereas the club is keen to sell to developers and find somewhere to build a bigger home that will bring in more revenue.
The Portuguese boss – who only this week was being talked of by chairman Bruce Buck as someone who could rival the longevity of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal by staying 15 years at the club, is unsurprisingly toeing the party line.
“I think the most important thing is to position ourselves regarding our future and I think the club has made a wise decision in that sense," Villas-Boas said.
“When Porto left their old stadium to go into the new stadium, the Dragao, nobody liked the name, nobody liked the site or the stadium and nobody liked the idea of moving because the historical presence of the old stadium on that site meant something enormous to the fans.
“But if you go back to Porto now, there's not one single person who remembers about the old stadium. Everyone's in love with the new stadium.
“It's a beautiful stadium – it's a magnificent sight and everyone's happy with the move because it took us into the future, brought us more revenue and made us play in a magnificent stadium. This is my experience of the past.”
Villas-Boas added:”I'm not in a position to say how the fans will react or how they are reacting. In the beginning, it's maybe disappointment regarding the loss, or not, of an historical site, but eventually if we move, I think it will be for the best, for sure.”
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