Former Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon has revealed how Jose Mourinho’s time in west London ‘unraveled’ in 2007.
Relations between Mourinho and the Blues soured early in the 2007-08 season, with the Portuguese boss leaving Stamford Bridge for the first time after a 1-1 draw against Rosenborg in the Champions League and allowing the manager to leave Stamford Bridge for the first time.
Kenyon announcedd how things started to unravel at the club for Mourinho following the arrivals of Andriy Shevchenko and Avram Grant.
Speaking in the Paramount+ documentary Fever Pitch, Kenyon said: ‘The feeling in the club is that it’s falling apart a bit. It’s unraveling because Jose unraveled a bit.’
Peter Kenyon has revealed how Jose Mourinho told him he wanted to be sacked as Chelsea manager at the film’s premiere in 2007
While, Kenyon revealed how things at the club have started to unravel for Mourinho following the arrivals of Andriy Shevchenko and Avram Grant
Mourinho was frustrated with Grant as he felt the director was watching him during games while allowing him to sit on the bench with the Chelsea manager.
Mourinho became frustrated with Grant as he felt he was being watched by the director. He also felt that Grant’s presence on the bench during games was unnecessary.
When discussing Grant, Kenyon said: ‘I think people saw that [Grant sitting in the dugout] as undermining the manager but it is never. It doesn’t take the power away from the coach. But I don’t think Jose felt it was necessary.’
Meanwhile, Grant said: ‘I could see that things had become very nervous and Jose had become very nervous. I think for the first time in his life, things didn’t go the way he wanted them to.’
However, Grant’s arrival was not the only reason Mourinho fell to the Premier League giants. Many felt that Shevchenko’s arrival played a part in his departure.
Shevchenko endured a difficult time at Stamford Bridge and struggled to impress Mourinho after arriving from AC Milan in a £30.8m move in 2006.
The Portuguese manager admitted Shevchenko was not his first choice signing and asked the club to sign ‘another player’.
Frank Lampard says Shevchenko’s arrival at Chelsea in 2006 caused a rift between Roman Abramovich and Mourinho
Frank Lampard says Shevchenko’s arrival has caused tension between the manager and the owner, with many questioning who he signed for.
Lampard said: ‘It’s the first time I can remember that there seemed to be tension between the owner and the manager. There was a lot of talk around whose signing it was.’
Lampard went on to talk about how Shevchenko has struggled to settle at Chelsea. He said: ‘There are some injuries within the team and you can feel the dissatisfaction with the bad result for Jose. Andre needs time to settle down and he hasn’t fixed the noises.’
Meanwhile, Peter Kenyon said: ‘There was this story that Shevchenko was not a player Jose wanted. It’s rubbish.’
Mourinho and Abramovich were eager to sign a new striker in 2006 to play alongside their star-man, Didier Drogba. They are also pushing for the Champions League title after winning two consecutive Premier League titles.
Mourinho has put together a list of potential targets for the summer transfer window. However, Abramovich decided to take control and signed an alternative option.
Abramovich felt that Shevchenko was the right choice for the club as he was considered one of the best strikers in the world at the time. He scored 173 goals for AC Milan and won the Ballon d’Or in 2004.
Shevchenko endured a difficult time at Stamford Bridge and struggled to impress Mourinho after arriving from AC Milan in a £30.8m move in 2006
However, Shevchenko struggled in the Premier League. He found himself being dropped regularly – much to Mourinho’s frustrations. Therefore, the Portuguese manager started leaving him out of his match day squads.
Mourinho later admitted: ‘At Chelsea, he was not my first choice. I asked for another player, and I knew at the time that the club was doing everything to get me the players I wanted, or at least one of them, but it was not possible for various reasons.
‘And when I was offered Shevchenko, I said yes because he is undoubtedly a quality player. He’s like a prince in Milan and at Chelsea our philosophy is different, we don’t have princes.’
Speaking on the new Paramount+ docu-series, Mourinho said: ‘What the team needed was not what I got. When a coach is unhappy, uncomfortable then the job is more difficult.’
However, Shevchenko scored 14 goals and registered 12 assists in the 2006-2007 campaign. He also found the back of the net in Chelsea’s Champions League matches against Porto and Valencia.
Mourinho later left Chelsea in 2007 and said he decided to part ways with the Premier League giants after ‘losing’ his ‘happiness’ at the club.
Speaking on the douc-series, Mourinho said: ‘I lose happiness and other people grow in influence. I felt it.’
Many have questioned whether Mourinho wanted to sign Shevchenko or Abramovich
Mourinho has put together a list of potential targets for the summer transfer window. However, Abramovich decided to go against the Portuguese manager and signed Shevchenko
As Kenyon recalled how Mourinho pulled him aside and asked for a way out. The 66-year-old said: ‘We’re going to a screening of the film Chelsea.
‘We all went to the health club first and Jose called me aside and basically said, Pete get me out of here. That’s what Jose said I was enough. He has fully decided that this has come to the end of the road for him.
Kenyon talked about how the players reacted. He said: ‘We brought all the players that morning. They all came in thinking it was another training session but I stood up and told them that Jose had left. I looked around and was surprised. I mean (Petr) Cech had his head in his hands.’
Frank Lampard says he found Mourinho’s departure difficult. He said: ‘I found it a very difficult time and a very difficult thing to do. We’ve won Premier League titles and we’ve won the FA Cup before. We were in a tough spot early in the season and I was even more surprised that Jose lost his job. ‘
The coming of age story of the Premier League, available exclusively on Paramount+ from May 7.
News/Image Sources: Daily Mail
