Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has opened up on the departures of Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah during his tenure. In an interview on The Obi One Podcast with ex-Blues midfielder John Obi Mikel, Mourinho recalled reasons behind the exits of the two now legendary Premier League stars. “To be honest, they 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.
Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne – Getty image “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,” Mourinho explained. He went further to emphasize that the decisions were driven by the players’ eagerness to play regularly, which they lacked at Stamford Bridge at the time, giving the availability of more competitive stars. De Bruyne later left for Werder Bremen on loan before a permanent move, and Salah was loaned to Roma before a permanent switch to the Italian club. Clarifying his role in Salah’s departure, the Roma boss said, “When people say I let Salah go, I say exactly the opposite. I bought Salah. I was the one who said, buy that guy.” Regarding De Bruyne, he stated, “With Kevin, it was very similar. We went to pre-season in Asia, and Kevin was due to go on loan to a German side. I told the club no, I don’t want him out on loan, I want him with me.” While Mourinho acknowledges the players’ subsequent success, he reiterated that he did not force them out. “Probably other guys will say I pushed them out, but not them,” he concluded.
De Bruyne on the ground after suffering a hamstring injury against Inter Milan. Source: Getty De Bruyne required treatment just before the half-hour mark in Istanbul with the game still goalless. He appeared to be clutching the back of his leg. The midfielder attempted to play through the pain but was unable to continue and was taken off in the 36th minute. Phil Foden came off the bench to replace him. He held back his emotion as he made the lonely walk off the pitch. But it was a familiar story for the 31-year-old assist king. 
The Domenico Tedesco-led team who were visitors in the game outclassed their opponents in the first half and took the lead when Yannick Carrasco fired in. Romelu Lukaku then converted from Kevin de Bruyne’s pass to make it 2-0 before Niclas Fullkrug reduced the deficit from the penalty spot. 
Following Eden Hazard’s retirement from international football following Belgium’s premature exit from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which also marked the end of former coach Roberto Martinez’s reign, the country’s new national team coach, Domenico Tedesco has faced the hurdle of getting a new captain. De Bruyne who already has 97 caps for his country and 25 goals at the international level, has been named as Belgium’s new captain ahead of their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. Speaking to RTL-TVI television after the announcement, the Manchester City star said; 
“It’s an honour for me to be named and represent the country in this way. “I’m almost 32. I’ve never considered international retirement. I think I can still bring something to the table and help the youngsters.” Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Inter forward Romelu Lukaku have also been chosen as the two vice-captains. 
De Bruyne who has started just five of City’s last nine games and was back on the bench for a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace, stated that he’s been playing quite well even though there’ve been fewer assists. He said; “Obviously, people have a different standard [for me] to a lot of players. It’s just what it is. People expect me to score every game and assist every game. I think I’ve been playing quite well. Maybe there have been fewer assists but I don’t think I’ve been creating less. I don’t really look at these things. I feel fine. “I think I’m playing alright – maybe not the best I’ve every played but it’s good. You know the stats – I’ve created the most in the league and have the most assists and I’ve not even played four or five games. For me, it is the same. I’ve been doing the same thing for eight years here and 15 years in professional football so I’m feeling fine. I expect more from myself than you guys will ever do. You know what people are going to say outside but there’s no pressure. I play football because I like it, not because I have to, so it’s good.” 
The Manchester City star added that he’s quite an “old man” in the game when compared to some youngsters. De Bruyne added; “Whenever I go on the pitch I try to do what I do always. I don’t feel that I necessarily have to do something different. I’m an old man in this game, I know how it is. I’m fine. Obviously you want to play as much as possible but if you don’t play you do the best for 10 minutes and that’s what I did and get the win for the team. I don’t have to do anything different. People know who I am after eight years, know what I do for the team, what I’m good at and what I’m not good at. I don’t want to do different things that I’m not good at on and off the pitch. Everyone has his role to play and that’s really important to maintain your role.” De Bruyne has scored five goals and registered 17 assists for City this season. 
