Jose Mourinho may not be remembered as fondly as he once was at Stamford Bridge, nowadays, but the Portuguese manager still brought plenty of good times to Chelsea during his second spell in charge, even if it did end disastrously.
After leading Chelsea to the 2014/15 Premier League title and League Cup, Mourinho was sacked for the second time by Roman Abramovich, just a few months later with the club staring the relegation zone in the face after a catastrophic start to the 2015/16 campaign.
In total, Salah made just 19 appearances for Chelsea, scoring twice. He arrived halfway through the 2013/14 campaign after impressing in a Champions League tie between the Blues and Basel.
Yet, for whatever reason, the Egyptian forward was never given a chance and, during the Blues’ triumphant 2014/15 season, was loaned to Fiorentina.
But, despite making only three Premier League appearances that season and thus not qualifying for a winner’s medal, Salah still received one.
This was due to Mourinho dipping into his own pocket to make sure every member of his squad received a medal, by buying all the players who didn’t qualify, whether it was through injury or being loaned out, their own medal.
“Not all of them will get an official medal. But yes, we are going to buy medals.” Mourinho said when Chelsea clinched the title, per the Liverpool Echo.
“Schurrle, Salah, Schwarzer, Lewis Baker… all of them who started the season with us. They have been invited to the last match and the Player of the Year dinner. They belong to us.”
So, despite his three substitute appearances only amounting to a total of half an hour of game time, Salah was rewarded for his efforts and for being part of Mourinho’s squad.
The Manchester United manager will be hoping Salah is feeling equally as generous towards his opponents on Saturday lunchtime when he visits Old Trafford with Liverpool. The Reds’ forward has been in exhilarating form since clinching his £38 million move from Roma, last summer, scoring 32 goals in 38 games in all competitions.
(H/T Liverpool Echo)
