Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah has opened up on how he turned his career around after being snubbed by Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.
The Egyptian international, now widely considered the best player on the planet this campaign – at one stage looked to be a Premier League flop.
In January 2014, Chelsea paid £11m to Swiss champions Basel for Salah’s signature, with the young player one of Europe’s hottest properties.
But the winger made played 19 matches for the Blues across two-and-a-half years, with Mourinho unwilling to give Salah enough 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 the Serie A with Fiorentina and Roma, joining the latter on a permanent deal in 2016.
Just only a year later and he came back to the Premier League 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.”
Despite Chelsea ending up as champions under Mourinho, former left-back Felipe Luis revealed that Salah played ‘like Messi’ in training and was confused when he found out the forward was leaving.
“When [Salah] went Fiorentina, I said: ‘Why are you going, Momo? This is Chelsea’,” Luis explained to the Guardian. “And he said: ‘I need to play’. I thought: ‘This kid’s good.’
“He never went for money or to win more; he went to show he could play. In training he was like Messi. Really, like Messi. Ask anyone.”
