Mikel also said Belgian playmaker, Eden Hazard, was one of the laziest players he played with while at Stamford Bridge
By Kehinde Okeowo
Ex-Tianjin TEDA midfielder and former captain of the Super Eagles, Mikel Obi, has disclosed that Egyptian star, Mohamed Salah, once wept during a game while Jose Mourinho was in charge of Chelsea.
Mikell also said the Portuguese tactician’s ways of getting his message across to players was quite scary, and he was afraid of him.
Mikel, who retired from football at 35 in September, while talking to Mail Sports recently, recounted how Mourinho tore Mohamed Salah to shreds at half time when the Egyptian was largely anonymous in one of their games
He said, “I was scared of Jose Mourinho.
“I was definitely scared of him. I mean, this guy, the things he did to players, but it’s just a way of him passing his message across, trying to get the best out of the players.
“I remember what Jose Mourinho did to Mohamed Salah, the guy was crying in the dressing room in the second half. I think he was having a bad game. And then obviously Mourinho came in and ripped into him, massively ripped into him.
“Salah was in tears. And then what happened? Mourinho didn’t let him back onto the pitch for the second half. He took him off. He ripped into him and then got him off.”
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Mikel during the interview also said talented Belgian playmaker, Eden Hazard, was one of the laziest players he played with while at Stamford Bridge.
According to him, he acts lazy in training and eats a lot but on the day of the game, he ends up as the man of the match most times.
“The worst, the laziest footballer I’ve ever seen in my life. But then come the weekend, Eden Hazard produces – he was the man of the match. And he comes in with the trophy and he’s like, ‘come on guys, see?’
“I actually think when you look at Eden Hazard now, he’s lost a lot of weight. But when he was at Chelsea, the night before a game, after dinner, he sits there for like 20 minutes after, he’s eating rice pudding… he likes his food!
“But then Eden Hazard goes to bed, wakes up in the morning and on a Saturday, 3pm, he’s there. We just let him do whatever he wants,” he added.
Mikel Obi was signed by Portuguese Mourinho in 2016 and he won every major honour possible in his 11-year spell at the Premier League club.