‘Why does he treat me like this? Why does he do this to people? He’s a brutal guy’: Andre Schurrle says Jose Mourinho left his confidence in tatters with his ‘psychological pressure’ at Chelsea before his career decline and early retirement at 29
- Andre Schurrle has opened up on life working under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea
- The German says he lost his self-esteem while working with the ‘brutal’ coach
- Schurrle revealed that Mourinho heaps psychological pressure on his players
- The 29-year-old retired from professional football this year, citing loneliness
Andre Schurrle has opened up on his spell at Chelsea, as the World Cup winner revealed an insight into life working under the ‘brutal’ Jose Mourinho.
The German attacker joined the Blues from Bayer Leverkusen in 2013 and played an integral role during his first season at Stamford Bridge, scoring nine goals and providing three assists in 43 outings.
However, the 29-year-old fell down the pecking order Mourinho in his second season, and later moved to Wolfsburg on loan in 2015. He retired earlier this year, citing loneliness and the fierce competition of elite level football as the reason for his decision to walk away from the sport.
Andre Schurrle has opened up on working under the ‘brutal’ Jose Mourinho at Chelsea
The German joined the Blues in 2013 but fell down the pecking order after his debut season
Reflecting on his time in west London, Schurrle revealed that he often felt poorly treated by the current Tottenham boss.
‘He’s a brutal guy,’ Schurrle told German presenter Joko Winterscheidt. ‘I always thought to myself: “What does he do anyway? Why does he treat me like this? Why does he do this to people?”
‘In retrospect, I realise what he wanted and what resources he was working with. At the time, I couldn’t really deal with the things he wanted from me because of all the harshness and the psychological pressure.
The 29-year-old said Mourinho left his self-esteem in tatters with his ‘psychological pressure’
Schurrle said he often felt like giving up after being poorly treated by the Portuguese boss
‘Back then, it was extremely difficult. I would often drive home after conversations with him and just thought I couldn’t do it anymore. What could I do? He was building up such extreme pressure.’
The former Germany international conceded his confidence was left in tatters following a series of substitutions from the intense coach.
‘It was often the case that I played from the start and then he’d replace me at half time,’ he added.
‘Then, in the next game, I wasn’t in the squad and I was in the stands. I couldn’t understand that at the time and I lost my self-esteem. My ego was hurt.
‘Then I started thinking about what might be going through his mind. Sometimes during training I had the feeling that he was only looking at me, even if that probably wasn’t the case.’
Schurrle retired from professional football earlier this year, citing loneliness as a reason
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