Chelsea fans must scratch their heads on a daily basis wondering how their club allowed both Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah to leave Stamford Bridge.
The world-class superstars were used sparingly by Jose Mourinho, who clearly felt the pair either weren’t ready or weren’t good enough to play week-in, week-out at the time.
De Bruyne played just nine times for Chelsea before he was sold to Werder Bremen while Salah, who Mourinho convinced the Blues to spend £11 million on, only made 10 more appearances for the west London outfit.
Both De Bruyne and Salah have exceeded all expectations since leaving the Bridge.
De Bruyne is the current favourite to win the PFA’s Premier League Player of the Year award following another remarkable season with Manchester City while Salah is also one of the leading contenders for the prestigious individual accolade after scoring 24 goals in 28 league appearances for Liverpool this term.
The Egypt international currently has 32 goals in 38 matches for Liverpool - a remarkable return considering he isn’t a striker.
Salah doesn’t look back to his time working under Mourinho at Chelsea with particular fondness and who can blame him?
Mourinho's incredible gesture for Salah in 2015 revealed
However, it’s just been revealed that Mourinho made an incredible gesture for Salah in 2015 that will surprise many football fans.
Per the Liverpool Echo, Mourinho, keen to reward every member of his squad that had featured for Chelsea during the title-winning campaign in 2014-15, dipped into his own pockets in order to buy a medal for those players who weren’t eligible for an official winners’ medal.
Salah had only featured for half-an-hour over three substitute appearances that season and, subsequently, was not awarded for an official medal.
But thanks to Mourinho’s generosity he still ended up receiving
“Not all of them will get an official medal,” Mourinho said of his squad members. “But yes, we are going to buy medals.
“Schurrle, Salah, Schwarzer, Lewis Baker... all of them who started the season with us. They have been invited to the last match and the Player of the Year dinner. They belong to us.”
Mourinho gets a lot of stick for allowing Salah to leave Chelsea but full marks to him for that gesture. A real classy thing to do.
Mourinho: I'm not surprised by Salah's form this season
When the Portuguese coach was asked about Salah’s incredible form for Liverpool earlier this season, he told beIN Sport: “I'm not surprised with Salah's performance this season.
“I was aware of his great capabilities when he was with me at Chelsea.
“He improved during his spell at Italy, became more mature and improved physically.
“Players need time to adapt to their new teams. Some of them remain and others prefer to move to another club. It is normal in football.”