Italy CT Roberto Mancini advised Emerson Palmieri to quit Chelsea and the Brazilian-born Italian said it ‘showed that he cared about me’.
When the left-back joined the Azzurri squad in October, the CT stressed he wanted him to find a new club where he could play a more important role.
Emerson has not managed to establish himself as a starter since joining the Blues in January 2018 and the Azzurri CT was concerned about his form ahead of the Finals.
In 2020-21 he only played 15 competitive games in total, but returns as European champion with the Londoners, even if he only played two minutes since the group stage.
The Italy defender has been linked with a move to Inter in recent weeks and vowed to grab the opportunity given by Mancini to participate in Euro 2020.
“It showed that he cared about me,” he told the Telegraph. “He wants to see me doing well, so he said that perhaps it would be best for me if I headed to another ambitious team where I could play as much as possible and raise my game again.
“He expressed this wish, but we know that sometimes in football, it depends on other things, a number of factors.
“It’s not only up to me. All I can promise, whenever I’m with the national team, is to run and play to the last drop of sweat.”
Mancini relies on the full-back, who played five times in the qualifiers for the European Championship, and had no doubts about including the former Roma man in the squad for Euro 2020.
The 26-year-old stressed he has ‘worked hard’ to be in shape for the competition this summer, despite having only played twice in the Premier League in 2020-21.
“Of course, the Euros has always been my focus. If you are not playing much, you naturally have to train a bit more, work harder, so when the chance comes around, you are in your best form,” he continued.
“That’s what I did because in the national team you need to be at your peak physical condition,” Emerson said.
“I had a season where things didn’t exactly happen as planned, but I think you have to find a silver lining in the middle of this – it was a season where I learned a lot.
“It all comes down to being happy, training seriously and then letting the coach make his choices. It worked for me this way at Roma and after three trophies, I believe that it’s working at Chelsea, too.
“I have a clear conscience that I give my best every day to help the team, even if it’s hard to tell from outside.”