Mohamed Salah could snub a move to the Saudi Pro League because of his past relationship with Jose Mourinho.
In September, Salah was the subject of interest from the Saudi Pro League, with Al Ittihad making a verbal offer of £150million to sign the Liverpool star.
However, the Reds rejected the proposal, which is said to have been £100million up front with a further £50million in add-ons, instead insisting the Egypt international was not for sale at any price.
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Nevertheless, it is widely thought that Saudi Arabia remain keen on signing Salah in the coming year.
It is unlikely that he would be joining Al Ittihad however, should the current Saudi Pro League champions act on their reported interest in Mourinho.
According to the Mirror, the Roma boss is among the club’s managerial targets upon the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo this week, after a run of six wins in 12 league games this season.
Should Mourinho be lured to Al Ittihad from the Italian capital, it could have direct implications for the club’s chances of signing Salah.
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Salah and Mourinho were said to have had a turbulent relationship when both were at Chelsea. Indeed, Salah’s former Blues teammate Samuel Eto'o, once recalled one particular half-time team talk that left the Egyptian in tears.
"He (Salah) was unlucky because Jose Mourinho, the manager at the time, didn't take any prisoners," Eto’o said on the Obi One Podcast.
"It doesn't matter who you are, I remember a game away he had a go at Mo Salah at half-time and he was in tears, he was crying.
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"We thought he was going to put him back on the pitch but he destroyed him and brought him off but that was his mentality back then.
"I don't think he would do that now, he has become more mature, and he knows how to deal with younger players, that's how he got the best out of us then and that's why we were successful."
Meanwhile, another of Salah's former Chelsea teammates, John Obi Mikel, claimed Mourinho "made him cry" during a goalless draw with Norwich in May 2014.
Speaking to Dubai Eye 103.8, Mikel said: "I think (Salah) was having a bad game and then obviously Mourinho came in and ripped into him, massively ripped into him."
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Mikel was then asked if he expected Salah to go on and become one of the world's best players, to which he responded: "No. He was in tears, and what happened is [Mourinho] didn't let him back onto the pitch in the second half. He took him off.
"It would have been easy to just take him off and say 'You're not playing well, off you go, sit down, you're not going back onto the pitch.' But he ripped into him and took him off."
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Featured Image Credit: GettyTopics: Football, Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Pro League