Chelsea FC: Jose Mourinho Does Not Regret Selling Kevin De Bruyne
Chelsea FC boss Jose Mourinho has said that he has no regrets about selling Kevin De Bruyne to Wolfsburg. The midfielder left Stamford Bridge in January 2014 for a fee around £18million.
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Mourinho has claimed that the Belgian was unwilling to battle for his place in the first-team, leaving him with no choice but to move him on.
‘I wanted to keep him and he told me that it was not in his personality to be competing for a position in the team. He needed a team where he knows he can play every game. He needs to know that he is important.
‘He did not want a team where he thinks: “Am I playing or not?” He needs that trust, he needs that quality. He needs that security. So I was not happy when he left. So it’s not fair.’ (via The Daily Mail).
If this is truly the case, you can understand Mourinho’s decision to let him go. No-one in a trophy-hunting squad has a guaranteed starting spot, and certainly not a 23 or 24-year-old.
De Bruyne has complained about his treatment since leaving the club, claiming that his small price tag meant that he was unjustly sidelined for higher profile players.
‘Maybe it would have all gone differently if Chelsea had paid 45 million euros for me instead of eight million euros.’
However, the boss has denied this by pointing to the fact that he started the first two fixtures of the 2013/14 campaign, underlining that it was more his attitude than any underlying agenda that kept him subsequently off the field.
‘The first game of the season against Hull City he played. For the second game against Manchester United, he played. The third game of the season was the Super Cup in Prague, I decided not to play him. For the fourth match, in the Premier League, he was on the bench. And he was not happy. He told me he was not happy.
‘He didn’t tell me he couldn’t handle the pressure. He told me [what] he didn’t like and that he wanted to play every weekend. I told him this is Chelsea, you are very young, you have Eden Hazard, you have Juan Mata, you have Willian, you have Andre Schurrle, and I cannot promise you that.’
Mourinho is keen to stress that there is no bad blood between the two, at least on his behalf, and that he is pleased to see him flourish at the Bundesliga side.
‘Chelsea made a good deal and he was happy to go and I am happy because the kid is a good kid. And I am happy for him.’
De Bruyne has recently been subject to transfer speculation linking him with a mega £50million move to Manchester City. Having topped the assists table in the German top flight last season, as well as taking home the Player Of The Year award, he seems more worthy of the fee than Raheem Sterling.
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However, given that City have already spent that amount of money, it is unclear how strongly they will pursue the Belgian this summer.
Chelsea fans, and Mourinho, will undoubtedly be hoping that a deal doesn’t materialise.
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