Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah has explained how rejection by Jose Mourinho at Chelsea kicked his career into action.
In January 2014 Chelsea paid £11million to Swiss champions Basel for Salah’s signature, with the young Egyptian one of Europe’s hottest properties.
But he made just 19 appearances for the Blues across two-and-a-half years, with Mourinho unwilling to give Salah the required game-time to develop.
“When I look back, [I had] bad advice with the situation,” the Egypt captain told GQ.
“It was so tough for me, mentally. I couldn’t handle the pressure I had from the media, coming from outside. I was not playing that much. I felt, ‘No, I need to go’.”
Salah did just that and enjoyed loan spells in Italy with Fiorentina and Roma, joining the latter on a permanent deal in 2016.
Only a year later and he came back to England to prove his doubters wrong, with Liverpool forking out £36.9million.
“You have two choices: to tell the people that they are right to put you on a bench, or to prove them wrong,” the ex- Serie A star went on. “I needed to prove them wrong.
“The best thing you could have is a serious conversation with yourself. Just get a coffee and just sit like this and just ask yourself what you want.
“Some people can’t face themselves properly. But I have no problem with that. If I’m struggling, I just face myself and just feel where I am.”
