Former Chelsea midfielder, Ramires, says forward, Eden Hazard, was the club’s best player, but what Jose Mourinho did to him at Stamford Bridge in 2014 affected the whole team.
Jose Mourinho had publicly criticised Hazard for lacking defensive work after Atletico Madrid defeated Chelsea 3-1 on aggregate in the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg encounter in 2014 after a goalless draw in the first leg in Spain.
Ramires believes Mourinho, who is currently the coach of Tottenham, started to lose the dressing room after his criticism on Hazard months before Chelsea sacked him in late 2015.
“The public criticising of Hazard had a big impact because Mourinho started to lose control of the squad,” Ramires told FourFourTwo.
“It is one thing to say something internally, but it’s different to criticise someone publicly.
“Hazard was our best player, and what Mourinho did affect his style play.
“He used to take the ball and attack the opponent. Hazard started to pass the ball much more, and we missed our main attacking threat.”
“The atmosphere became heavy. Some guys were already angry because they weren’t playing,” Ramires added.
“When something like that happened with Hazard, some players who were not featuring in games had another ally against the Mourinho.
“It became a snowball that only got bigger and it reached a level where nothing would improve.”
