"In January he needs to find another club" - Jose Mourinho blasts Roma star for being 'unprofessional' and betraying his teammates
AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho has slammed one of his players for displaying an unprofessional attitude on the field.
Roma were held on to a 1-1 draw in their latest Serie A clash away to Sassuolo on November 9. Tammy Abraham scored for the Giallorossi in the 80th minute before Andrea Pinamonti brought the hosts level five minutes later.
Mourinho was displeased with the attitude of one of his Roma players after drawing against a struggling Sassuolo side who are 12th in Serie A. He told the media after the game (via Metro):
"We had a good performance, with a positive, professional, serious attitude. The last two days were difficult, It was a team that wanted to win against a tough opponent, I am sorry that the efforts of the team were betrayed by the attitude of one unprofessional player."
The Portuguese great added:
"You didn’t see me talking that way about Roger Ibanez against Lazio, because errors are part of the game, his attitude was never a problem. An unprofessional attitude that is not fair to his teammates, that is what disappoints me.
"A point away from home is still not a negative result and I am happy with the general attitude of my squad."
José Mourinho: "Of the 16 players I played today, I was satisfied with the attitude of 15 of them. The other player, I won't say who it is, but he betrayed everyone else's effort.
I told him to find a new club by January."
Ruthless.
https://t.co/0kYKOT15Q2
Jose Mourinho was quizzed about which player he was pointing at but refused to give away a name. The Portuguese added that the player will have to find a new club in January:
"I had 16 players on the field tonight and I liked the attitude of 15 of them. I told the other than he had this attitude today only and not always. Now, we want to close this period of the season with three points. In January, he needs to find himself another club."
AS Roma star Rick Karsdrop's agent wanted explanation for Jose Mourinho's comments
While Jose Mourinho refused to name any player, the consensus belief in the media was that the his comments were aimed at Dutch star Rick Karsdorp. The player's agent has now asked for clarification from Mourinho and told Nos (via Football Italia):
“I am surprised by Mourinho’s comments, We want an explanation. We are stunned also that everyone is pointing the finger at Rick, without Mourinho or Roma saying his name.
“We demand an explanation from the club on what the coach said and the way in which he did it. This is not the way you treat a player who has been at Roma for five years.”
🗣️ Mourinho in his press conference yesterday:
"The team's effort was betrayed by an unprofessional player. I had 16 players on the pitch, I liked the approach of 15 of them. The player will have to find a new club in January."
The player is rumoured to be Rick Karsdorp 😳 https://t.co/OXvGWgRfAP
Karsdorp came off the bench for Jose Mourinho's side against Sassuolo. In 25 minutes on the pitch, he recorded three tackles and won three ground duels, but was also dispossessed twice.