Jose Mourinho slammed Rick Karsdorp and a few days later seemed to launch a broadside at Tammy Abraham when claiming some Roma players ‘shouldn’t need motivating to earn their wages.’
The coach has used his last two post-match press conferences to blast his own players, although without naming them openly, dropping some pretty big hints as to who he was talking about.
Mou stated after the 1-1 draw with Sassuolo that someone had “betrayed his teammates with an unprofessional attitude” and it was very quickly ascertained this was referring to Karsdorp.
The Dutchman was promptly frozen out of the squad for the final game against Torino and has already left Italy with his family.
After the 1-1 result with Toro at the Stadio Olimpico, Mourinho used his press conference to attack a different player and the indications point towards Abraham.
He started a rant about modern football when asked if the England striker, who was excluded from the World Cup squad, was in need of fresh motivation after missing out on Qatar 2022.
“I am old-fashioned, but I think that when you become a professional football player in a universe where millions and millions of children dream of doing this, you don’t need the support of anyone,” said the Special One.
“You don’t need an external source of motivation. What is this? An external source. A coach, a psychologist. Why?
“You have to give your all every day on the pitch, in every training session, in every match. Play badly, play well, make mistakes, but the attitude is something separate from that.
“This raises questions over today’s world. Who needs psychological support here? Run, friend. Go out there, win individual duels, cause problems, put yourself about.
“My friend, there are millions of children who dream of being where you are, so few get there. These players are privileged.
“The external source of motivation should be that plus, that little bit extra, but you are a man. Mistakes are part of the game, but when it comes to the attitude, that is different. Do you need motivation to earn your salary?”
It is again no coincidence that this morning there were reports Roma are ready to listen to January offers for Abraham.