John Mikel Obi recalls when Jose Mourinho 'made Mohamed Salah cry'

Jose Mourinho left Mohamed Salah in tears after the former Chelsea manager ripped into him for having a "bad game", according to former teammate John Obi Mikel.

The Egyptian forward has gone on to establish himself as one of the best forwards in world football at Liverpool, but his first spell in England was difficult, to say the least.

After signing for Chelsea from Basel in a reported £11 million, Salah would score just two goals in 19 appearances under Mourinho before joining Serie A outfit Roma on a permanent deal.

Salah, who was also loaned out to Fiorentina and Roma during that frustrating two-year spell at Stamford Bridge, didn't see eye-to-eye with Mourinho, according to former Blues coach Eddie Newton, who said they had a "personality clash".

It's fair to say things didn't play out as expected at Chelsea for Salah.

In fact, one of his former teammates has opened up on the time Mourinho 'made him cry' during a goalless draw with Norwich in May 2014.

Speaking to Dubai Eye 103.8, John Obi Mikel said: "I think (Salah) was having a bad game and then obviously Mourinho came in and ripped into him, massively ripped into him."

Mikel was then asked if he expected Salah to go on and become one of the world's best players. "No. He was in tears, and what happened is [Mourinho] didn't let him back onto the pitch in the second half. He took him off.

"It would have been easy to just take him off and say 'you're not playing well, off you go, sit down, you're not going back onto the pitch.' But he ripped into him and took him off."

Image credit: Alamy

During the interview, Mikel also spoke about former teammate Kevin De Bruyne, who also struggled under Mourinho during his time at Stamford Bridge.

"Kevin was always a stroppy guy, he was always on his own, he was always moody, he was always grumpy," the former Nigeria international said. "You could never get anything out of him.

"But now when I watch him play... what a joy. What a joy to watch."

When asked if De Bruyne and Salah's experience at Chelsea was the making of them, he added: "I think so when I look at it. You can also say with [Romelu] Lukaku as well, he went to Inter Milan but he went back and it didn't work out.

"But when I look at the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Mo Salah, what they've become now, the best players in the world, it's amazing to see.

"They've become physically stronger, they've become faster. I don't know what happened to them!"

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