Why Mourinho Benched Salah at Chelsea? Ex-Egypt Coach Shares Behind the Scenes Insight on Salah’s Early Struggles

Former Egypt assistant coach Mahmoud Fayez's shed light on why Jose Mourinho didn’t trust Mohamed Salah during the Egyptian star’s ill fated spell at Chelsea in 2014.

Speaking on podcast, Fayez revealed that Salah who joined Chelsea from Basel was mentally down due to lack of playing time.

“When we first started working with Hector Cuper as egypt’s coaching team, Salah was barely featuring for Chelsea” Fayez recalled.

He added that Salah personally told Cuper he was struggling mentally feeling the weight of being sidelined by then manager Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho’s Defensive Demands

According to Fayez, Cuper directly contacted Mourinho to understand the situation. The Portuguese tactician reportedly told the Egypt coach:

“Salah isn’t contributing defensively the way I want from my wingers”

Fayez pointed out that Salah at that time lacked the physical power he boasts today making it harder for him to meet Mourinho’s tactical expectations.

Despite that difficult period, Salah's since transformed into global superstar, going on to become one of the world’s most feared forwards after successful spells with Fiorentina, Roma and especially Liverpool.

Khaled Hegazy |

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Journaliste sportif spécialisé dans la couverture du football et la création de contenu numérique, alliant expérience éditoriale et expertise des médias sociaux.