Obi Mikel: "Mourinho once made Salah cry"

Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel reflected on why Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah and Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne did not play for the London club.

"Salah and De Bruyne were unlucky at the time because Mourinho didn't care about the emotions and feelings of others. If you didn't do your job, it didn't matter who you were, the coach could criticise you harshly.

One day Mour took Salah apart at half-time and he burst into tears. We thought: "Okay, he'll let him come back into the game". But Mourinho first destroyed the guy in front of everyone and then immediately replaced him. That was Jose's nature at the time.

Would Mourinho do the same now? I think not. He has become older, more mature and now knows how to communicate with young players.

Although at that time, Jose squeezed the most out of us in this way. That's how we succeeded in all tournaments," the former Chelsea midfielder said in his podcast.