Mourinho demands wine from player

Infamous Chelsea manager José Mourinho demanded a bottle of wine from one of his players before letting him take to the pitch for his debut, he revealed.

The player replied “no problem” according to Mourinho (Photo: Wiki)

18-year-old Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has worked his way through the London club’s academy since the age of eight, made his first senior appearance in Chelsea’s 3-1 win over Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday night, sealing their progression into the next stage of the Champions League.

And Mourinho put in a tounge-in-cheek request for Loftus-Cheek, demanding the player supply him with “a nice bottle of red wine” as recompense for letting him play.

According to the manager, Loftus-Cheek replied “no problem”.

Commenting on the player’s performance, Mourinho told reporters: “He showed a very good personality, very positive, not afraid of playing, not afraid to have the ball.

“He wanted to participate. Obviously there were low levels of responsibility. We are qualified, the result is 3-1 and the game is over, but he showed immediately the quality he has.

“Everyone in the stadium had the feeling we have a kid with talent. So keep going, keep working hard, and hopefully people around him don’t disturb the work we are doing with him,” he said.