KEVIN DE BRUYNE and Mohamed Salah are two of the Premier League’s best players, but it’s not always been that way.
The pair both struggled during their days with Chelsea and John Obi Mikel and John Terry have revealed why.
Salah and De Bruyne both had short stints at Stamford Bridge before their careers took off.
And according to their former team-mates it might be because they didn’t have the right mentalities at the time.
Obi Mikel was speaking on his The Obi One Podcast alongside Terry when they got on to the topic of the Blues flops.
Mikel explained that despite De Bruyne’s high standards these days, he used to come across as a sulker and a bad trainer.
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He said: “I think Kevin De Bruyne, wasn’t the best trainer back then, he was somebody that comes to training, and probably because he wasn’t playing that much, always having his head down, always angry and sulking.
“He was like a kid who came to the playground and nobody wanted to play with him.”
And his negative attitude even got him in a spot of trouble with Obi Mikel revealing it once landed him in a heated argument with Samuel Eto’o.
He explained: “I remember when Samuel Eto’o had a go at him and they had a massive fight on the training ground just because he [De Bruyne] wasn’t putting in the effort that Samuel Eto’o wanted so they had a massive row on the pitch.”
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Since leaving London, De Bruyne has excelled and is now considered by many as one of the greatest Premier League midfielders of all time.
He has won 16 trophies with Man City since he joined the club in 2015 following a successful spell at Wolfsburg.
Salah also found it hard to shine at Chelsea with Obi Mikel suggesting he couldn’t cope with then manager, Jose Mourinho’s, intense personality.
He said: “They [Salah and De Bruyne] were so unlucky that the boss, Mourinho, then didn’t take any prisoners, if you weren’t doing your job, it didn’t matter who you were, he would have a go at you.
“He had a go at Mohamed Salah at half-time once and he was in tears crying. We thought ‘OK, he’s going to let him back on the pitch’
“But then he destroyed the kid and then pulled him off. But that was just his mentality back then but would Mourinho do that now? I think no.”
Salah is also now considered by many as a Premier League great and has won the league, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup and three golden boots for Liverpool.
On the same podcast former Chelsea captain and club legend Terry confessed to not doing enough to help the pair settle into life in West London.
He said: “It’s my one disappointment as captain [not helping them come through].
“I think I adapted over time as captain and I think I softened the later the years went on.
“But I think those early years when those guys were there I was probably very strong and very disciplined on the group and how we did things.
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“Actually that was probably the first time where they probably needed an arm around their shoulder, a sit down and a discussion of ‘could I have maybe helped them settle in?’
“So actually from those two players specifically and the levels they’ve gone to, I’m disappointed in myself as captain and I think that’s a regret that I have and I will never be able to replace again.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
