Jose Mourinho convinced Mohamed Salah to snub Liverpool for move to Chelsea

Roma winger Mohamed Salah has revealed that he rejected Liverpool in order to move to Chelsea in January 2014. The Egyptian was in advanced negotiations with the Reds over a transfer but Jose Mourinho's call before the move could take flight changed everything for the former Basel man.

The move to Stamford Bridge did not go as planned, with the winger struggling to get off the bench under Mourinho and he was eventually sent on a season-long loan to Fiorentina from where he sealed a transfer to Roma last summer. However, things could have been different had he not fallen to Mourinho's charm and gone to Liverpool, which was being managed by Brendan Rodgers during that period.

Salah has done well in the Serie A this season, scoring 11 goals and picking up 4 assists in 27 appearances for the club thus far. Meanwhile, Chelsea have been struggling to recoup any points and are 10 points off a place in the top four, following a horrendous start to the season. Liverpool are also in dire straits in relation to Champions League qualification, with the Reds currently nine points behind fourth placed Manchester City, albeit having a game in hand.

"Liverpool had wanted me for a number of months. They had opened talks in October 2013," Salah told MBC Masr, as quoted by Goal.

"Negotiations took a long time, because Basel rejected more than one offer. They felt the transfer fee was not that high. I was waiting for Liverpool [to agree terms with Basel] because I really like Liverpool. I was eager to join them.

"But then I received a phone call from Mourinho and that changed everything. He explained the situation to me and told me that he needed me at Chelsea. That was one of the main reasons why I joined Chelsea.

"Mourinho told me that he thought I was a good player and that he wanted me to pick Chelsea," he added.