Belgium midfielder Kevin De Bruyne says he only spoke to former manager Jose Mourinho twice during his time at Chelsea.
De Bruyne, now at Manchester City, made only three Premier League appearances in two years at Chelsea, spending a season on loan at Werder Bremen.
He left for Wolfsburg in January 2014 before moving to City in 2015.
“There was so much in the press about my relationship with Jose Mourinho,” De Bruyne, 27, told the Players’ Tribune.
“But the truth is that I only ever spoke to him twice. The plan was always for me to go on loan for a bit.”
De Bruyne scored 10 goals in 33 Bundesliga appearances for Werder Bremen before returning to Stamford Bridge, when the then Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp – now in charge of City’s title rivals Liverpool – wanted to sign him.
De Bruyne said: “Mourinho texted me, ‘You are staying. I want you to be part of this team’.
“So I thought, OK, great. I’m in his plans.”
