Mohamed Salah’s three-season spell in Serie A elevated him into a world-class footballer, before which he was used rather seldomly by José Mourinho at Chelsea. Following an arguably successful stint at Real Madrid, the Special One returned to Stamford Bridge to find a studded line up that included the now-Liverpool winger. His former teammate John Obi Mikel has revealed how Mourinho disregarded Salah.
In a talk on Obi One Podcast, the Nigerian disclosed the fact that Salah struggled in London because of Mourinho’s strict player management policies.
“They were so unlucky that the boss, Mourinho, didn’t take any prisoners. If you weren’t doing your job, it didn’t matter who you were, he would have a go at you.”
Obi Mikel reminisced one incident where Mourinho teared Salah up.
“He had a go at Mohamed Salah at half-time once and he was in tears crying. We thought ‘OK, he’s going to let him back on the pitch’ but then he destroyed the kid and then pulled him off. But that was just his mentality back then but would Mourinho do that now? I think no.”
The defensive midfielder spent three seasons under Mourinho, and thinks the manager has matured over the years.
“He’s become older and more mature and knows how to deal with younger players, and players in general, a lot more now. I think that’s just how he got the best out of us then and that’s how we were when we were successful because of how he wanted us to play, train and behave as players.”
Salah is now regarded as one of the greatest African players to grace the beautiful game and one of Liverpool’s greatest ever in history. It was his performances at Roma that drew Liverpool’s attention back in the mid-2010s.
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