Mohamed Salah is now considered one of the best forwards in the world due to his prolific performances during his five-and-a-half seasons at Liverpool. However, his time at Chelsea was quite different. During his two-and-a-half years at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho, Salah had a challenging time and struggled to make a significant impact.
Jose Mourinho is a manager renowned for his high expectations and strict demands when it comes to total commitment to the team. During his tenure at Chelsea, Mohamed Salah experienced the tough and demanding side of Mourinho’s management.
Jose Mourinho made Mohamed Salah cry
In a recent interview, former Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi revealed the challenges faced by Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah during their time at Stamford Bridge. He attributed their struggles to the negative influence of Jose Mourinho.
Mikel Obi mentioned that both Salah and De Bruyne had difficulties during their stints at Chelsea. Salah played for Chelsea in the 2015-16 season, while De Bruyne made only three domestic appearances in a two-year period from 2012 to 2014. According to Mikel Obi, De Bruyne’s attitude and training habits were some of the reasons he struggled to integrate into the team. At the time, De Bruyne was not the most dedicated trainer.
“I think De Bruyne wasn’t the best trainer back then. He was somebody that comes to training and probably because he wasn’t playing that much, always having his head down, always angry and sulking,” Obi Mikel said. “He was like a kid who came to the playground, and nobody wanted to play with him.”
The ex-Nigerian Super Eagles players also recounted a training incident where there was a serious burst-up between De Bruyne and Samuel Eto’o
“I remember when Samuel Eto’o had a go at him, and they had a massive fight on the training ground just because he [De Bruyne] wasn’t putting in the effort that Eto’o wanted, so they had a massive row on the pitch.”
Mohamed Salah was also a victim of a myriad of unpleasant circumstances at Chelsea. His time at Chelsea was markedly different from his highly successful tenure at Liverpool. During his two-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge, the Egyptian forward struggled to make an impact, scoring only twice in 19 appearances across all competitions.
“They [Salah and De Bruyne] were so unlucky that the boss, Mourinho, then 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. 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.”
Mohamed Salah’s performance at Chelsea
Mohamed Salah joined Chelsea from Basel for £11 million in January 2014. He initially faced challenges adapting to the Premier League and Chelsea’s playing style. Subsequently, he had loan spells at Fiorentina and Roma before making a permanent move to Roma in 2016.
Speaking on joining Chelsea, Mo Salah was full of excitement.
“I’m very happy to sign for Chelsea, such a big club in the world. I hope I can make the Chelsea supporters happy and have a good career at the club for many years to come,” said the player. However, his stay was short-lived.
After returning from his loan spells, Mohamed Salah made only 13 league appearances for Chelsea, scoring just two goals during his second stint at the club.
Do you think Jose Mourinho missed a chance to make Mohamed Salah shine for Chelsea? Tell us what you think in the comments.
