Following Eden Hazard’s jibe at his former boss, Jose Mourinho has cleared how he feels about the Chelsea winger citing, “he is not my enemy.”
It is not the first time that a player has spoken out loud against Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese has a history of bust-ups with players and officials at different clubs he’s managed. The Manchester United manager shed light on his relationship with Hazard.
"I read something, for example, that Eden [Hazard] is in love with Antonio [Conte, Chelsea manager] and was not in love with me. But he's not my enemy, it's just feeling, that's fine. I am happy for him,” said Mourinho.
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Eden Hazard, the former Lille forward had earlier taken a swipe at his former boss by stating that Antonio Conte, the new Chelsea manager, knows how to treat players after having played at the top level. When asked about his reaction to Hazard’s statement, Mourinho explained the situation is similar to Pep Guardiola and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to some extent.
The former Barcelona striker Ibrahimovic has often spoken out about his time at Barcelona and the treatment meted out by the Spanish manager. However, Mourinho did not waste this opportunity to taunt Hazard back. “I never read Zlatan saying that Guardiola is a bad manager”, Mourinho was quoted by the Evening Standard.
"I never read it. I don't think he is motivated. It is normal between managers and players you have more connections with some than others, but that doesn't mean you hate each other”, Mourinho further added.
Hazard was not as vocal a few months ago when L’Equipe asked the Belgian if he was responsible for Mourinho’s sacking from Chelsea, "It was a period where I wasn't playing well. But deep down I never wanted Mourinho to be fired. I was behind him".
However, Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo later revealed that there was “palpable discord” between Mourinho and his players at the end of his second stint as the Chelsea manager.
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When playing for Jose Mourinho last season, Eden Hazard struggled to perform at his best and he only ended up scoring just four goals in the Premier League.
The Manchester Derby is already over but it is yet to see how Mourinho handles his ‘homecoming’ which could prove to be the toughest fixture for him. The Stamford Bridge faithful certainly have a soft spot for the Special One but could be chanting Conte’s name come the end of the match.
Manchester United will be facing Chelsea away at Stamford Bridge on 23 October.
