Roma winger Mohamed Salah has revealed that Jose Mourinho was the main reason behind his decision to snub Liverpool in favour of a move to Chelsea in January 2014.
The 23-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Brendan Rodgers's Liverpool during his time with Basel, and appeared to be on course for Anfield during the January transfer window two years ago.
However, the Egypt international has said that he received a phone call from Mourinho at the 11th hour that convinced him to join Chelsea instead.
"Liverpool had wanted me for a number of months. They had opened talks in October 2013," Salah told MBC Masr.
"Negotiations took a long time, because Basel rejected more than one offer. They felt the transfer fee was not that high. I was waiting for Liverpool because I really like Liverpool. I was eager to join them.
"But then I received a phone call from Mourinho and that changed everything. He explained the situation to me and told me that he needed me at Chelsea. That was one of the main reasons why I joined Chelsea. Mourinho told me that he thought I was a good player and that he wanted me to pick Chelsea."
Salah struggled to nail down a regular starting spot at Chelsea and was eventually shipped out on loan to Fiorentina before joining Roma on another loan deal last summer.
Barney Corkhill
