Sports
Mo Salah may reject Saudi move over Mourinho history
The possibility of Mohamed Salah making a move to the Saudi Pro League seems uncertain, primarily because of his previous interactions with Jose Mourinho.
In September, Salah garnered interest from the Saudi Pro League, with Al Ittihad making a verbal offer of £150 million to secure the services of the Liverpool star.
The proposal reportedly included an initial £100 million payment with an additional £50 million in add-ons. Nevertheless, Liverpool firmly rejected the offer, asserting that Salah was not available for sale at any price.
Despite the Reds’ stance, it is widely believed that Saudi Arabia remains eager to secure Salah’s services in the near future.
However, if the current Saudi Pro League champions, Al Ittihad, pursue their reported interest in hiring Jose Mourinho as their manager, it is unlikely that Salah would consider joining the club.
The Mirror has reported that Mourinho is among Al Ittihad’s managerial targets following the recent sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo, who oversaw a string of six wins in 12 league games this season.
Mourinho’s potential arrival at Al Ittihad could have direct implications for Salah’s decision.
The two had a turbulent relationship during their time at Chelsea, as recalled by Salah‘s former Blues teammate, Samuel Eto’o. Eto’o revealed an incident in which Mourinho’s halftime team talk left Salah in tears, highlighting the manager’s tough approach during that period.
Eto’o stated,
“He (Salah) was unlucky because Jose Mourinho, the manager at the time, didn’t take any prisoners. It doesn’t matter who you are; I remember a game away he had a go at Mo Salah at half-time, and he was in tears, he was crying. We thought he was going to put him back on the pitch, but he destroyed him and brought him off, but that was his mentality back then.”
Additionally, another of Salah’s former Chelsea teammates, John Obi Mikel, revealed that Mourinho “made him cry” during a match against Norwich in May 2014.
Mikel explained,
“I think (Salah) was having a bad game, and then obviously Mourinho came in and ripped into him, massively ripped into him. He didn’t let him back onto the pitch in the second half, and he took him off.”
