Former Manchester United defender Chris Smalling had to endure a second spell under Jose Mourinho at AS Roma manager until the Portuguese coach was sacked earlier this week.
Smalling has decided to hit back at Mourinho after he was slammed by his former manager.
Mourinho issued a scathing attack on Smalling in November last year, criticising the English defender’s ability to deal with injuries. Smalling had been out of action for five months with a knee injury.
The verbal attack included accusations of having a low pain threshold, which in theory meant Mourinho questioned Smalling’s commitment to the cause. Mourinho even made a tongue in cheek comment about his defender being unable to sleep through a toothache, as per the Daily Mail.
This all resulted in negative publicity for Smalling, who initially got his career back on track after leaving United for Roma. He has now fired back at his two-time boss, taking to Instagram to defend himself and his commitment to his playing career.
“Since signing for AS Roma in 2019, my commitment and loyalty to the club has never wavered, Smalling began in a post shared in both English and Italian.
“The minute I stepped foot in Roma, I instantly felt at home. Roma is my home, and the relationship I have built with AS Roma fans is something I cherish dearly.
“For that reason I wanted to jump on here and address some of the rumours that I have seen circulating over recent months. Let me start by clarifying that I have never asked to, nor even contemplated, leaving this great club.
“Speaking openly, the last few months have proved to be some of the most frustrating of my career. There are things in this game and in life that we can control, and others we simply can’t. This injury has been one thing that we couldn’t.
“No footballer wants to spend their days in a treatment room, and this period of time away from my teammates has challenged me, with setback after setback. I have, and will always, put the needs of my teammates first, but the absolute priority for the medical team is to guarantee that I can play a significant role in the latter part of the season and for seasons to come.”
It sounds like Smalling will be happy to see the back of Mourinho.
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