Prior to spending a solitary season with the Bianconeri, Sarri took in a year-long spell at Chelsea.
He delivered a Europa League crown during his time at Stamford Bridge, but pushed to head home after just 12 months.
The 62-year-old accepts that he made the wrong decision there, saying of his departure from west London: “Marina Granovskaia wanted to keep me from leaving Chelsea. Today I say that it was a mistake to want to return to Italy at all costs.
“Chelsea are a great club, in the following years they have taken many young players [who would have been] suitable for me.
“I lived a particular year, in which [Roman] Abramovich could not enter England and we had an owner who was not present.
“A rather difficult situation, all in the hands of Marina and she had a thousand problems to solve, the football aspect was in the hands of us as the staff, but with not having the economic power required.
“Then came [Timo] Werner, [Kai] Havertz, [Mason] Mount, [Hakim] Ziyech – all suited to me and my way of playing.”
One player that Sarri did work with, having previously had him at Napoli, was classy playmaker Jorginho.
The 29-year-old midfielder has been underappreciated at times in England, but is now getting the recognition he deserves as a bid for Euro 2020 with Italy pushes him into Ballon d’Or contention.
Sarri said of a familiar face: “If he wins the European Championship, he is a candidate for the Ballon d’Or.
“He’s a refined player and that’s why everyone doesn’t understand him.
“He makes everything seem easy, it’s his greatness. When I went to Chelsea, we managed to snatch him from Manchester City.
“At first it was hard to understand him for the fans, the journalists, now I see that he is appreciated. He was also the captain of Chelsea.”
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