“They left because…” -Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has stated the reason why he sold Muhammad Salah and Kelvin De Bruyne
Jose Mourinho has given enough answers about Mo Salah and Kevin De Bruyne to have his story very plain.
The fact that two players who went on to become true Premier League greats were allowed to leave Chelsea on his watch is constantly held against him, but speaking on Jon Obi Mikel’s podcast, Mourinho made it clear that he would have preferred to keep both of them.
He claimed that the manoeuvres were desired by the participants, and there was little he could do to stop them:
“To be honest, they departed simply because they wanted to. They didn’t want to wait, so they fled. Their history demonstrates that their choice was sound because they pursued the career that they did. They’ve achieved a high standard. However, occasionally children make such selections because they are impatient.
“When people tell me you let Salah go, I tell them the exact opposite. Salah was purchased by me. I was the one who suggested buying him. He was on his way from Basel to Liverpool, and I fought to get him to come to Chelsea.
“Then, yes, then comes the part where you have to perform or you have to wait to be a Chelsea player.” He didn’t want to wait, he wanted to go on loan, and Chelsea eventually chose to sell him. He went to Fiorentina, then Roma, and then Chelsea, and it was not my decision to sell. I was suggesting that he go on loan if he believes he must play every minute of every game.
“It was extremely similar with Kevin. He went to Asia for pre-season, we travelled to Indonesia and Thailand, and Kevin was supposed to go on loan to a German club, but I told them no, I don’t want him on loan, I want him with me. He stayed with me and made his Premier League debut in the starting 11. We played the Super Cup against Bayern after that game, and he didn’t play.
“He wanted to leave the next day!” Then we played our second game of the season at Old Trafford versus Manchester United, which I believe ended in a 0-0 draw. He was on the bench, but he got some playing time that wasn’t enough for him. As a result, he desired to depart.”
In any case, it’s all in the past now. We remember both guys at Chelsea and were unconcerned when either, particularly Salah, left. It’s just revisionist history from a lot of fans who pretend they always knew they’d be great. « Chelsea News
