José Mourinho has criticized Gareth Bale for breaking ranks to give a “totally wrong” impression about his fitness. The Tottenham winger posted on Instagram on Tuesday about enjoying a “good session” at the training ground earlier in the day, adding a bicep curl emoji for emphasis.
In Mourinho’s view, Bale made it look as if he was ready to play for Everton in the FA Cup tie on Wednesday night and had actually told the manager that he did not feel 100% and excused himself from travelling.
Mourinho’s Clarification
Mourinho then felt compelled to clarify the situation after the 5-4 defeat, giving details he did not want to disclose. He said Bale had requested a scan on an unspecified problem on Monday and, after training on Tuesday, had still felt uncomfortable, even though the scan had not shown an injury. Bale remains a doubt for Saturday’s Premier League visit to Manchester City.
“I have to admit that his post created something that needed to be addressed because there was a contradiction between the post and the reality,” Mourinho said. “Since the beginning of the season, in relation to everything, I tried to be very, very private and tried to keep everything indoors but I’ve felt that I needed to address the situation.
“Probably the post was not even his responsibility, I don’t know … but the post was: ‘Training session great,’ so I’m ready and it was totally wrong. When I was questioned, I had to say the reality of the things which I [will now] repeat for the last time and I hope there are no more questions about it because the situation was exactly the way I told [it].
“He didn’t feel well, he asked for a scan, he had a scan, the scanner didn’t show any injuries but his feelings were still there and the coaches and sports science and medical people … we can’t argue with those feelings because the player’s feelings are more important than the rest of us so he was not ready for the game. It’s as simple as that. If he’s ready for tomorrow, he’s selected for tomorrow.”
Spurs’ Carabo Cup Merchandise
Spurs were dreadful defensively at Everton, making individual errors, which have been a theme in recent matches; City, by contrast, have been close to perfect in the department during a run of 15 straight victories. Mourinho was asked whether he could ever foresee being able to fix his backline with the kind of big-money signings that his City counterpart, Pep Guardiola, has made.
“No,” Mourinho said. “I knew that I was going to come to a different reality [at Spurs] – a big club but with a different profile in terms of being or not being a candidate to win competition A or B. A club [not] being able to resolve problems with a cheque. The club made the possible efforts in the summer to improve the team and I’m not complaining with anything.”
Mourinho was joking about the subject of Spurs’s Carabao Cup final merchandise. The club have brought out a range to celebrate getting to Wembley on 25 April, where they will face City, which includes pens, key-rings, mugs, pennants, flags and T-shirts. It has led to predictable mickey-taking from rival fans.
“If you ask me if am I going to buy anything, I am not going to buy anything,” Mourinho said. “If you tell me if you lose the final, what are you going to do with your silver medal … first of all, I think I am going to win the final and, secondly, if you want my silver medal, I give [it] to you because I don’t want to keep it.
“But merchandising is about making money. Sell anything you can sell. Man United sell everything – mattresses, pillows, shoulder or neck supports. So probably they are doing very well. How many millions is Tottenham losing every match we play at home [during the pandemic]? We have to make money so we go to a final – try to sell some pins, some shirts, key-rings, anything. So well done.”
