Chelsea fans are probably sick and tired of hearing about what could have been when it comes to their former players. It's no secret that two of the best players in Premier League history used to ply their trade at Stamford Bridge.
During Jose Mourinho's second spell in charge of the Blues, Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah were both on the books at Stamford Bridge, but the special one rarely opted to use the pair during their time at the club.
While the duo were far from the global stars and household names that they are now, the Premier League would look very different if Mourinho had decided to build his side around De Bruyne and Salah.
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After a far from ideal time at Chelsea, Mo Salah was sent on loan to Fiorentina, before making his way to Roma and then to Anfield, where the Egyptian has become one of the best players in the world.
De Bruyne took a similar path after being loaned out to Werder Bremen and then making a permanent transfer to Wolfsburg. The Belgian playmaker finally found his home on the blue side of Manchester.
While Mourinho would argue that he had strength in depth across his attacking options during their time at Chelsea, fans will still always have a slight chip on their shoulder after seeing the levels that both have reached since leaving.
John Obi Mikel on Mourinho making Salah cry
John Obi Mikel was joined by his former teammate and captain at Chelsea, John Terry, during the latest episode of his 'Obi One' podcast.
The pair reminisced about their glory filled days at Chelsea, but it didn't take long for the topic of Mo Salah and Kevin De Bruyne to come up.
John Obi Mikel claimed that Mourinho's coaching style impacted the duo who were new to English football.
He said:
They were so unlucky that the boss, Mourinho, then didn't take any prisoners. If you weren't doing your job, it didn't matter who you were, he would have a go at you.
He had a go at Mohamed Salah at half-time once and he was in tears crying. We thought 'Okay, he's going to let him back on the pitch' But then he destroyed the kid and then pulled him off. But that was just his mentality back then. But would Mourinho do that now? I think no.
The former Nigeria midfielder also recalled the time that a young Kevin De Bruyne was involved in a training ground bust-up with veteran striker Samuel Eto'o.
I think De Bruyne wasn't the best trainer back then. He was somebody that comes to training and probably because he wasn't playing that much, always having his head down, always angry and sulking,
He was like a kid who came to the playground and nobody wanted to play with him.
I remember when Samuel Eto'o had a go at him and they had a massive fight on the training ground just because he wasn't putting in the effort that Eto'o wanted so they had a massive row on the pitch.
With Kevin De Bruyne making just three appearances in a Chelsea jersey during his time at the club, and Mo Salah claiming just a handful more, the pair were probably not given enough chances by the then manager.
Judging by John Obi Mikel's memories, very few players from that squad could have predicted the success that both would be a part of back then.
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