Former Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has revealed how former Chelsea manager José Mourinho once made Mohamed Salah cry during their time together at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking on The Peter Crouch Podcast, Mikel recounted an emotional incident during a match against Norwich City, where Mourinho publicly lashed out at the then-young Egyptian winger at half-time—only to substitute him before the second half.
“Salah was in tears,” Mikel said. “Mourinho shouted at him in the dressing room and then told him he wasn’t going back out. Normally you get a chance to fix the mistake, but not with him. He said, ‘You’re not going back in.’ That was it.”
Mikel, who spent over a decade at Chelsea, acknowledged Mourinho’s intensity but also defended the Portuguese tactician’s tough-love approach.
“Fantastic guy, amazing—not just as a coach but as a human being,” he said. “But he had his own way of getting the best out of players. Sometimes, especially with younger guys, he definitely crossed the line.”
Salah, who joined Chelsea from Swiss club Basel in 2014, struggled to find his feet under Mourinho. After loan spells at Fiorentina and Roma, he eventually moved permanently to the Italian capital before returning to the Premier League with Liverpool—where he blossomed into one of the world’s most feared forwards.
The Egyptian has since won numerous individual accolades, helped Liverpool to Premier League and Champions League glory, and firmly cemented his place among the club’s all-time greats.
