5 stars who fell out with Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho is undoubtedly one of the all-time managerial-greats. He is known for his mind-games, spectacular press conferences, ‘park-the-bus’ style of play and more importantly his ability to produce the results when it matters most, and of course, win trophies.

Apart from all of that, he is credited for nurturing and developing young talents into truly world-class players. Ricardo Carvalho, Deco, Arjen Robben, Didier Drogba, Raphael Varane, Angel Di Maria and Mesut Ozil are a few such examples.

However, there have been a few players who have clashed with him on numerous occasions. Here are 5 players who would do anything to avoid Jose Mourinho for their second time:

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#5 Bastian Schweinsteiger

Schweinsteiger was treated poorly by Mourinho at Manchester United

The German midfielder was signed by Louis van Gaal for the 2015-16 season for just £6.5 million from Bayern Munich. Unfortunately, things did not go too well for the World Cup winner as he made just 18 appearances. In fact, Schweinsteiger looked too tired a player. Things only went downhill the next season with the arrival of new manager Jose Mourinho.

Just days into his arrival, Mourinho dropped the Champions League winner from the first-team and sent him to train with the club’s Under-23 side. Notwithstanding, he also omitted the German from the Europa League squad and was even written off as an asset in their published accounts.

Schweinsteiger briefly returned in October and then in the new year, before finally being sold to Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire.

#4 Kevin De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne failed to break into the starting 11 at Chelsea

More than De Bruyne hating Jose Mourinho for his mistreatment at Chelsea, Mourinho will hate himself for having let go off a gem-of-a-player in Belgian sensation KDB.

Their stand-off dates back to the back end of 2013, when Mourinho gave a damning critique of the Genk and Werder Bremen starlet prior to his departure to Wolfsburg. The former Madrid boss refused to grant De Bruyne a starting place in his Chelsea team. Mourinho let go of the Manchester City star and felt he had made a great decision, because, in his words, "If De Bruyne stayed here, not happy and not motivated, and we'd sold him after a year, we'd have got less - 50 per cent less than we sold him for.

When asked why he let go of De Bruyne, the Special one responded saying “With De Bruyne, if you have a player knocking on your door and crying every day he wants to leave, you have to make a decision. He was not ready to compete. He was an upset kid, his training was very bad.”

#3 Luke Shaw

Luke Shaw prepares to throw as Mourinho looks on

Shaw, not so long ago, was tipped to become one of the greatest full-backs in Europe. With injuries not helping the cause, the arrival of Mourinho to Old Trafford only added to his woes as his dream remains just that – a dream.

Mourinho first claimed Shaw was "long behind" his United teammates in terms of focus and ambition. He publicly criticized Shaw, despite the Englishman having played very few minutes.

There are several players who received similar treatment as show – to be benched and then be openly criticized. Romelu Lukaku with whom the manager was just reunited is an example. At Chelsea, along with de Bruyne, both players decided to pack their bags and play elsewhere. Luke Shaw will surely look to follow suit.

#2 Samuel Eto'o

Eto'o played under Mourinho at two different clubs

The Cameroonian worked under Mourinho at Inter Milan and Chelsea. Mourinho was one of the reasons in Eto’o taking the decision to leave Inter for Chelsea after the pair combined rather well to win the 2010 Champions League. It was during their time together at the Blues when their relationship completely fell apart.

The first signs of the strained relationship came out in the open when the Portuguese boss joked about the player's advanced age. Not taking this too well, Eto’o responded saying "I may be 50 years old, but I'm still scoring!"

Speaking at a launch of the first of nine graphic novels about his life, Eto’o said "I remember many games when we were fighting and we said some terrible things to each other.”

#1 Iker Casillas

A love affair that slowly soured

Almost like a fairytale-heartbreak movie, the Casillas-Mourinho relationship was like a love story that disintegrated.

Things began going downhill for the two in 2011, when Mourinho allegedly suspected that San Iker’s girlfriend leaked Madrid’s line-up ahead of the El Clasico. The infamous feud only got worse in the following Clasico when Mourinho poked late Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova in the eye.

Iker, trying to reduce the tension between his Spain teammates made a phone call to a few Barcelona players, seeking reconciliation. Mourinho, however, did not take this too positively, and labelled Casillas for being ‘a traitor, a grass, a mole, an egotist,’ as is written in his biography ‘The Special One.’ Consequently, Iker was dropped for reserve goalkeeper Antonio Adan and Diego Lopez was made the Madrid number one.

Casillas, in 2015 made his feelings public when he said - ‘I never spoke publicly about him at the time and I don’t think I ever will. People know how it was. In the end, we just did not have a good relationship.’