Andre Schurrle slams ex-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and reveals he almost quit football over his ‘brutal’ management
JOSE MOURINHO has been branded ‘brutal’ by Andre Schurrle - with the former Chelsea star claiming the Special One drove him to the brink of quitting football.
Retired Germany international Schurrle attacked Mourinho's management and blames his time with the Blues for losing his self-confidence.
"How could he treat me the way he did, and just what did he do to people? In hindsight I realise what he wanted to do, and how he worked to achieve it.
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"At the time I couldn't come to terms with what he wanted from me, with his harshness and the psychological pressure he created.
"It was extremely difficult for me at times. I often drove home after having a conversation with him thinking I couldn't take it any more.”
Schurrle made 65 Chelsea appearances, scoring 14 goals, and won the 2014 World Cup with Germany.
However he fell out of favour with his Portuguese boss, and left for Wolfsburg after just 18 months.
He went on to join Borussia Dortmund and have loan spells with Fulham and Spartak Moscow, before announcing his shock retirement in July.
I couldn't understand why, and I lost my sense of self-worth. It damaged my ego.
Andre Schurrle
The ex-winger continued: "What could I do? He exerted extreme pressure on me. I felt he wanted to push me on.
"But, all the same, he put some thoughts into my mind that were hard to deal with.
"Before I even joined Chelsea I played in Michael Ballack's farewell game [in June 2013], and Mourinho was coaching my team.
"He told me I had better score twice, or else he would loan me out to Southampton. I didn't know whether he was joking or not.
"I would often start games for Chelsea and he'd sub me off at half-time. The next game I wouldn't even be in the squad, but instead be sat in the stand.
"At the time I couldn't understand why, and I lost my sense of self-worth. It damaged my ego.
"Then I started to wonder what Mourinho was thinking about me in training. I thought I was the only player he was keeping an eye on, but that probably wasn't the case.
"But at times it felt like there was someone watching me and thinking, ‘You're s***’."
