Chelsea have told Willian it is "impossible" for him to secure a new three-year deal in west London.
The Brazilian's contract is set to expire in three months and discussions between the two parties have hit a wall.
Willian moved to Stamford Bridge in 2013 and the Blues are prepared to prolong his stay by a further two years.
But with the player turning 32 this summer Chelsea will be keen not to tie him down for too long as they plot a big money move for Jadon Sancho.
The Borussia Dortmund star would provide competition for Willian leaving the Blues to re-evaluate their options.
“Really a very beautiful story that I built at this club, I have a very special affection for the fans, for the people who work there and I identified myself a lot here,” Willian told Fox Sports.
“Everyone knows that my contract ends now in a few months, so the renewal is really a difficult thing to happen.
"I think it will be very difficult for me to renew because Chelsea offered me two years, I asked for three and it ended there, we didn’t talk anymore, we didn’t negotiate anymore.
"Three years… Chelsea said it would be impossible, so for now theres this difficulty, but nothing is impossible.
“We don’t know what can happen, suddenly we could make a deal and get it right. But what I can say today is that my contract is going over and I will be free to negotiate with any team.”
Sancho is on both Chelsea's and Manchester United's radar with the duo the only Premier League sides in for the wonderkid.
The 20-year-old is likely to be on the move this summer despite the Germans slapping a £100m price tag on him.
