“He had Salah in tears” – Ex-Super Eagles captain reflects on life at Chelsea under Mourinho

Ex-Super Eagles and Chelsea midfielder, John Mikel Obi, has revealed how tough it was with Jose Mourinho in charge at Stamford Bridge, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 2013 AFCON winner played 120 games under the Portuguese tactician across two spells, winning the English Premier League and FA Cup titles.

While the Blues experienced success across Mourinho’s stints, Obi revealed it was sometimes tough to adjust to the demands of the former Manchester United coach.

Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring his side’s first goal during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Crystal Palace FC at Anfield. [Photo Credit/ Imago].
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David Luiz and Didier Drogba, and John Obi Mikel celebrate the winning goal at Stamford Bridge. [Photo Credit/ Imago].

“Fantastic guy, amazing. Not just as a coach, but a human being as well. He’s someone you can speak to, someone you can connect with, but he obviously has his ways of trying to get the best out of players.

“Sometimes did he cross the line? Of course he did. Of course, he did cross the line sometimes, the way he spoke to players. Especially younger players, but it was just that era of him trying to get the best out of players.

“He did that with Mo Salah when he had a go at him in the dressing room, and Mo Salah started crying, and he took him off. Sometimes when you have a go at players, you just have a go and take them off!

“Or you have a go and let them go back into the game and try to correct whatever mistake it was, but sometimes he does that and tells you, ‘You’re not going back in.’ It’s a double whammy, isn’t it?,” Mikel Obi said on That Peter Crouch Podcast.

Mohamed Salah during the UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool on May 26, 2018 at NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine. [Photo Credit/ Imago].About a decade ago, things didn’t end well after Salah was withdrawn despite playing out of position. His replacement, Eden Hazard, also struggled in that game.

However, it was the beginning of the end for the Egyptian at Stamford Bridge, as he was sent out on loan to Fiorentina in February 2015, where he proved rather prolific.

Salah joined Roma the following year and spent two years at the Italian capital, scoring 34 goals and providing 21 assists in 83 games.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts as Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City tackles Mohammed Salah. [Photo Credit/ Imago].
Salah then returned to England in 2017 for €35m, and has rejuvenated the Merseysiders, winning two English Premier League titles and a UEFA Champions League trophy.

The former FC Basel winger returned to the EPL with a bang and has won four Golden Boot awards. In 401 games for the Reds, Salah has scored 245 goals and provided 113 assists.

Adefolahan Guerreiro

Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria.

With a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience.

He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.