Mohamed Salah 'broke down crying' in dressing room after harsh double punishment
John Obi Mikel has lifted the lid on the infamous incident in which Jose Mourinho made Mohamed Salah cry, and suggested the Portuguese's tough love at Chelsea was a test for his players
John Obi Mikel has spoken out about the time Jose Mourinho brought Mohamed Salah to tears. The former Chelsea star defended his former manager's tough approach as a means of challenging his squad.
'The Special One' is known for his stringent methods and high expectations, which have frequently led to success. However, for Salah, his Stamford Bridge stay ended in disappointment, only to later achieve stardom at Liverpool.
Ex-Blues midfielder Mikel recounted a poignant moment from a 2014 clash against Norwich City when Mourinho's harsh words during a half-time substitution caused Salah to cry, signalling a turning point in their rapport.
Speaking on That Peter Crouch Podcast, Mikel began by praising Mourinho, saying: "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."
The method in question is one that saw the former Chelsea boss deliver a dressing-room tongue-lashing to Egyptian star Salah, who responded by bursting into tears and subsequently being substituted.
"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," said Mikel.
"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?"
Salah's less-than-stellar performance that day was partly attributed to being played out of position in midfield. Following his substitution, Eden Hazard, his replacement, failed to make a significant impact as the match ended in a goalless draw.
The Egyptian winger's time at Chelsea was short-lived. After making only a handful of appearances, he was loaned out to Fiorentina in February 2015. This marked the beginning of the end of his first stint in English football.
Although an uptick in form sparked interest from Roma and later Liverpool, his Chelsea statistics remained unimpressive, tallying just two goals and three assists in 19 outings. A stark contrast to his Chelsea stint, Salah's time at Liverpool has been spectacular, yielding 245 goals and 113 assists in 401 appearances.
It is also telling that it was under Jurgen Klopp's more empathetic management that Salah blossomed, indicating a clear correlation between the manager's approach and the player's revitalised form. In hindsight, Mourinho might regret not being more lenient with the player, who was only 22 when he arrived in west London.
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