Former Chelsea striker says Jose Mourinho was never the ‘Special One’
Not everyone who was at Chelsea during the arrival of Jose Mourinho agreed with the 'Special One' title he bestowed upon himself – particularly Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Hasselbaink was Chelsea's top scorer from the previous season when the former Porto boss arrived at Stamford Bridge, but was pushed to join Middlesbrough as Didier Drogba arrived.
Speaking now about the arrival of the future three-time Premier League winning manager, the current Burton Albion boss has revealed why his opinion was somewhat soured.
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Speaking on Kammy and Ben's Proper Football podcast, Hasselbaink said of leaving the club during the summer of Mourinho's arrival: "I was absolutely gutted.
"More gutted because Mourinho never spoke to me. I bet you that Mourinho had been told that I was a difficult lad, hard to work with and all that kind of stuff – which was not the case at all.
"They got (Didier) Drogba – what a signing – but surely I could have featured alongside him. I've spoken to Mourinho, he said, 'yes, I made a mistake there'.
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"I don't care what he said. He should have kept me and I would have had a medal.
"He's a brilliant coach, absolutely magnificent what he's done in football, but he was never the special one for me."
In his first press conference as Blues boss Mourinho had said: "Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm a European champion and I think I'm a special one."
Former Netherlands international Hasselbaink had said back in 2019: "The decision was forced upon me.
"Mourinho, [Didier] Drogba and [Mateja] Kezman came in and my agent was called and they said I could go on a free transfer.
"They wanted me out of the door."
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