Jose Mourinho said this forgotten Chelsea star is to blame for my grey hair

Jose Mourinho blamed his grey hairs on a former Chelsea and Real Madrid star who went on to play for a club which no longer exists.

During the special one’s first spell at Stamford Bridge, during which he won the Premier League twice, Mourinho signed a young nimble midfielder from French club Le Havre, who have produced talents such as Paul Pogba and Dimitri Payet down the years.

That man was Lassana Diarra, who would later go on to play for the likes of Arsenal, Real Madrid and PSG, also earning 34 caps for the Franch national team.

Diarra’s list of admirers includes Mourinho, who called him “amazing” during their time at Chelsea, and France manager Didier Deschamps, who brought him back into the national team set-up in 2015.

“He has intelligence, he has everything and in such an important strategical position,” Deschamps told TF1.

“It’s so good to have the choices I have. Lass is a top player, a top-class performer who has experience.”

Despite his talent, Diarra only made 13 Premier League appearances for Chelsea, many of which were out of position at right-back, before he was sold to Arsenal as he sought more playing time.

And Mourinho has since revealed in a chat on John Obi Mikel’s podcast that both Diarra and his agent were a nightmare to deal with.

And leave he did, with one year left on his contract, Diarra left for Arsenal, where again he would make just seven top flight appearances before swapping North London for Portsmouth.

After a successful 12 months at Portsmouth, the midfielder earned his big money move – €20 million – to Real Madrid, where he would win La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup between 2009 and 2012.

Le Havre

2004-05

Chelsea

2005-07

Arsenal

2007-08

Portsmouth

2008-09

Real Madrid

2009-12

Anzhi Makhachkala

2012-13

Lokomotiv Moscow

2013-14

Marseille

2015-17

Al Jazira

2017

PSG

2018-19

He later joined a string of high profile players, including the likes of Samuel Eto’o and Roberto Carlos, in signing for Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. Their quest to dominate Russian football was short-lived however, as the club struggled to maintain the high wages on offer and sold the likes of Diarra shortly after, eventually losing their license to operate as a professional club in Russia in 2022.