Jose Mourinho is one of the most respected managers in the world. The Portuguese coach has established himself as one of the greatest ones in soccer history and his opinions are often taken very seriously.
He is also known for being a great scout who has brought out many top talents at the clubs he has managed. However, there have been some players who did not have the best of times under the manager but succeeded elsewhere, with Kevin De Bruyne being a famous example.
Jose Mourinho reveals the reason for selling Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne may be a big superstar for Manchester City currently, but there was a time he was an unknown superstar. De Bruyne was actually at Chelse previously, under the second stint of Jose Mourinho there. The Belgian was never really impressed there and was soon sold to VFL Wolfsburg and later to Manchester City, where he became a true soccer superstar.
Many have long criticized Jose for this decision to let go of De Bruyne, saying that he should have developed the player well and that such a player should never have left. Recently, in an interview with The Obi One Podcast, Mourinho spilled the beans as to why he allowed De Bruyne to leave Chelsea.
š£ļø'They were just kids who couldn't wait!' š³
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) December 18, 2023
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho reveals the reason he let both Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah leave Stamford Bridge! ā½ļø pic.twitter.com/CMkem5AXST
Apparently, during the start of the season, De Bruyne was very much in the plans of Mourinho. Even though the club wanted to send him out on another loan spell, he didn’t allow it. He even participated in some games at the start of the season.
But De Bruyne asked for an exit after not getting enough game time. Jose clarified this and said, “When you are at Chelsea and you want to leave, go and another one comes. They were just kids who couldnāt wait, and their careers say they were right, but it wasnāt down to me. Probably other guys will say I pushed them out, but not them.”
In the end, things worked out for both of them, maybe a bit less for the coach, who has been at multiple clubs and sacked by all of them. Meanwhile, De Bruyne won the treble with Manchester City last season, though he is currently injured.
Notable names sold by Chelsea during Jose Mourinho’s tenure
Jose Mourinho wasn’t just talking about Kevin De Bruyne alone. During his second stint at Chelsea as a manager, he sold quite a few young players who went on to become world-class superstars.
Another of those players is Mohamed Salah, who is now a Liverpool and Premier League legend. The Egyptian winger was a bench player at the time, and apparently was reduced to tears by Mourinho on one occasion. Salah eventually left for Serie A side AS Roma, and later returned to the Premier League, finding success for Liverpool.
Romely Lukaku is also a notable name, though a bit unique addition. He didn’t play under Mourinho but was never recalled from loan by the Portuguese coach. He was later sold to Everton, but later went to Manchester United, where he was reunited with Mourinho. However, both of them soon left the club, and were again reunited this year at Roma. Lukaku had a failed second stint at Chelsea, and is now on loan at Mourinho’s team. Lukaku is therefore unique due to his continued association with Mourinho and his return to Chelsea.
While these are few of the names that did not succeed under Jose Mourinho, we have to remember that several others did flourish under him. Different players thrive under different environments and conditions He is forever a great manager of the game, and his list of successful players proves that.
