Jose Mourinho and Roma star Chris Smalling are in a bitter social media spat after the Portuguese was sacked as Roma manager.
Mourinho had launched a scathing attack on the defender in November last year, criticising his ability to deal with injuries. Smalling has been out of action for nearly five months with a knee issue.
The now-sacked Roma boss had said Smalling, 34, 'isn't capable of playing through pain', 'holds something back' and that there are people 'who aren't high-performance athletes who have a greater pain threshold' amid the former England defender's latest issue.
Since signing for AS Roma in 2019, my commitment and loyalty to the club has never wavered, Smalling began in a post shared in both English and Italian.
The minute I stepped foot in Roma, I instantly felt at home. Roma is my home, and the relationship I have built with AS Roma fans is something I cherish dearly.
'For that reason I wanted to jump on here to address some of the rumours that I have seen circulating over recent months. Let me start by clarifying that I have never asked to, nor even contemplated, leaving this great club.
'Speaking openly, the last few months have proved to be some of the most frustrating of my career. There are things in this game and in life that we can control, and others we simply can't. This injury has been one thing that we couldn't.
No footballer wants to spend their days in a treatment room, and this period of time away from my teammates has challenged me, with setback after setback. I have, and will always, put the needs of my team-mates first, but the absolute priority for the medical team is to guarantee that I can play a significant role in the latter part of the season and for seasons to come.''
https://www.instagram.com/stories/s...rce=ig_story_item_share&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Chris Smalling was key in Jose Mourinho's Roma squad before suffering an injury set back that ruled him out of the squad.
It was the second time he has played under Jose Mourinho after his previous stint with the Portuguese while it was at Manchester United. At Manchester United, Jose and Chris Smalling's relationship was not smooth either. Smalling earned the criticism of Mourinho for his fitness issues - a scenario that has repeated itself at Roma.
Since September, Chris Smalling has been ruled out of action for Roma to to a knee injury. He will be back to action for the club soon but will be playing under new interim manager Daniele de Rossi as Jose Mourinho has been sacked.
Mourinho had launched a scathing attack on the defender in November last year, criticising his ability to deal with injuries. Smalling has been out of action for nearly five months with a knee issue.
The now-sacked Roma boss had said Smalling, 34, 'isn't capable of playing through pain', 'holds something back' and that there are people 'who aren't high-performance athletes who have a greater pain threshold' amid the former England defender's latest issue.
Since signing for AS Roma in 2019, my commitment and loyalty to the club has never wavered, Smalling began in a post shared in both English and Italian.
The minute I stepped foot in Roma, I instantly felt at home. Roma is my home, and the relationship I have built with AS Roma fans is something I cherish dearly.
'For that reason I wanted to jump on here to address some of the rumours that I have seen circulating over recent months. Let me start by clarifying that I have never asked to, nor even contemplated, leaving this great club.
'Speaking openly, the last few months have proved to be some of the most frustrating of my career. There are things in this game and in life that we can control, and others we simply can't. This injury has been one thing that we couldn't.
No footballer wants to spend their days in a treatment room, and this period of time away from my teammates has challenged me, with setback after setback. I have, and will always, put the needs of my team-mates first, but the absolute priority for the medical team is to guarantee that I can play a significant role in the latter part of the season and for seasons to come.''
https://www.instagram.com/stories/s...rce=ig_story_item_share&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Chris Smalling was key in Jose Mourinho's Roma squad before suffering an injury set back that ruled him out of the squad.
It was the second time he has played under Jose Mourinho after his previous stint with the Portuguese while it was at Manchester United. At Manchester United, Jose and Chris Smalling's relationship was not smooth either. Smalling earned the criticism of Mourinho for his fitness issues - a scenario that has repeated itself at Roma.
Since September, Chris Smalling has been ruled out of action for Roma to to a knee injury. He will be back to action for the club soon but will be playing under new interim manager Daniele de Rossi as Jose Mourinho has been sacked.