Former Chelsea captain John Terry claimed that neither Mohamed Salah nor Kevin De Bruyne were “ready” to play for the Blues at that time in their careers.
De Bruyne was the first to arrive in west London, joining Chelsea’s first-team setup permanently in the summer of 2013. Salah would arrive six months later, although by that point the Belgian midfielder had already forced through a move to Wolfsburg. A young Salah lasted 12 months under José Mourinho before eventually escaping to Roma.
The pair would later return to the Premier League with Manchester City and Liverpool respectively, establishing themselves as two pillars of the most successful clubs in the competition’s recent era, sweeping aside all before them—including Chelsea.
Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne for (and Against) Chelsea
Stats via Transfermarkt.
However, without the power of hindsight, there was little to suggest that either wispy talent would go on to enjoy the success they have during those initial days at training.
Terry was captain of Chelsea at the time of both players’ arrivals and wasn’t entirely imressed with either. “Kevin De Bruyne came in, Mo Salah came in, have gone on to be absolute world beaters in the game, like incredible players. They came in at a time where they wasn’t ready for the group,” Terry told his former teammate John Obi Mikel on the podcast, The Obi One.
“Now, they showed little bits of quality, but I have to say the level that Chelsea had at training was as hard as I’ve ever known training in our time.
“You know, people coming in that are really good, experienced players, just not understanding the level and falling by the wayside very quickly. It was very demanding.”
At the time of De Bruyne’s arrival, he was joining a side which had followed up the club’s first-ever Champions League title with a Europa League crown in 2013. Salah’s first half season in west London (2013–14) would be a rare campaign without silverware but Mourinho’s side still conspired to reach the Champions League semifinals and finish third in the Premier League.
They would romp to the top-flight title the following year, although Salah left halfway through, scarcely relinquishing top spot in feat of dominance which was unprecedented until it became normalised by the Liverpool and City sides with the Egyptian and De Bruyne in them.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Legend Reveals What Went Wrong for Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne.
