Roma coach Jose Mourinho blames Tottenham Hotspur for failing to sign Napoli star Kim Min-jae and offering only half the asking price. ‘Spurs didn’t help me.’
The tactician will face Kim Min-jae on Sunday evening in Serie A when Roma visit the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples.
Speaking in his press conference, Mourinho reveals that he had been keeping a close eye on the South Korea international centre-back for a very long time.
“I can tell you a story about one of their players. I spoke to him on FaceTime and wanted to buy him at Tottenham, but Tottenham didn’t help me,” said Mourinho.
“The player cost 10m, Tottenham offered 5. A deal could be done for 7-8m, but at that time Tottenham couldn’t spend money. I spoke to the lad two or three times via FaceTime, he really wanted to come, but he couldn’t come.
“And now he’s that ‘rubbish’ defender who plays there, Kim.”
Mourinho’s sarcasm was aimed at the Spurs directors who evidently doubted Kim’s promise at the time, despite already achieving great success with his fellow countryman Son Heung-Min.
Kim Min-jae was in Korea until 2019, then moved to China before a switch to Fenerbahce in 2021.
Napoli paid €18m to get the centre-back in July 2022 and he has been a revelation in Serie A and the Champions League.