Jose Mourinho has shared why Kevin De Bruyne left Chelsea during his time at the club.
The AS Roma boss was quizzed about why he let both De Bruyne and Salah depart Stamford Bridge in the latest episode of The Obi One Podcast.
Previously, John Obi Mikel had revealed that the Belgian international was “like a kid” in training, as he was constantly sulking due to not getting enough playing time at the club.
Jose Mourinho reveals why he let Kevin De Bruyne leave Chelsea
Ever since, many have wondered how the Portuguese legend saw a talent as special as De Bruyne up close and decided to sell him.
To this day, both Mourinho and Chelsea are widely ridiculed for not trying to develop the young midfielder at the time.
Now, Jose Mourinho has spilt the beans on what genuinely took place when Manchester City icon Kevin De Bruyne left Chelsea.
“To be honest, they [Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah] left because they wanted to leave. They left because they didn’t want to wait. History proves that their option was good because they’ve had the careers they have and reached a high standard, but sometimes. kids make decisions like that because they can’t wait or they don’t have the patience to be calm and to wait for the right moment. Sometimes, their career goes in the wrong direction”, he told The Obi One Podcast.
“With Kevin, it was very similar. We went to pre-season in Asia. We went to Indonesia, Thailand and Kevin was due to go on loan to a German side.”
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho revealed that he was desperate for Kevin De Bruyne not to even be loaned at the time, saying, “I told the club, no, I don’t want him out on loan, I want him with me. He stayed with me and he began the Premier League season playing in the starting XI.”
Jose Mourinho went on to reveal the moment when Kevin De Bruyne decided to bid farewell to Chelsea, saying, “After that, we played the European Super Cup in Prague against Bayern and he didn’t play that game. Then, the next day, he wants to leave. “
“We played the second Premier League game of the season against Manchester United at Old Trafford and we drew 0-0. He was on the bench and he played some minutes, but it wasn’t enough for him, so he wanted to leave.”
“When you are at Chelsea and you want to leave, go and another one comes. They were just kids who couldn’t wait, and their careers say they were right, but it wasn’t down to me. Probably other guys will say I pushed them out, but not them.”
Manchester City were the real benefactors by signing Kevin De Bruyne eventually
Regardless of where one stands on the decision from Jose Mourinho to allow Kevin De Bruyne to leave Chelsea, the real winner ended up being Manchester City.
Signing the all-action attacker in 2015, the revered midfielder has a case to be regarded as the club’s greatest player of all time.
As far as Premier League history goes, not many have bettered Kevin De Bruyne, who has also managed to win every possible trophy at club level barring the Club World Cup, which he could also lift in December.
While the ex-Genk maestro had signed for the Sky Blues off the back of a terrific season at VFL Wolfsburg, he still had plenty to prove after his forgettable spell in a Chelsea shirt.
It’s safe to say that Kevin De Bruyne has silenced every one of his doubters and his time at Manchester City will be remembered for years to come, with Chelsea and Jose Mourinho having to look back on their decision with their heads in their hands.
