Former Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi has opened up on an incident that became the breaking point for Mohammed Salah’s career at Chelsea.

Mikel Obi explained that Mourinho once got Salah in tears by ripping into him during a halftime break.

Not only did Mourinho eviscerate Salah, but he also hauled him off and did not allow him to return for the second half of the game.

Mikel Obi says that become the end of Salah’s stint with Chelsea as the Egyptian winger was completely devastated.

When asked if he ever expected Salah to go on and become a top player, Mikel said: '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.'

Mikel Obi also recalled how Kevin De Bruyne’s stint at Chelsea went. He described him as a shy and laid-back person who did not like talking.

'Kevin was always a stroppy guy, he was always on his own, he was always moody, he was always grumpy. 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 both men's disappointing experience at Chelsea was the making of them, he continued: '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!'


KPE