Jose Mourinho has hit out at Tottenham for failing to sign Kim Min-jae when he was manager of the north London club.
Min-jae has been a star for Napoli since joining them earlier in the season and helping them top the Serie A table.
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He is one of the best defenders in Europe and has been a mainstay in Napoli’s back line, replacing Kalidou Koulibaly when he left for Chelsea in the summer window.
Now Mourinho, who is at Roma, has spoken of Napoli and Min-jae as his capital side take on league leaders Napoli in a Serie A game.
“I can tell you a story about one of their players. I talked to him on FaceTime and wanted to buy him from Tottenham, but Tottenham didn’t help me,” Mourinho said.
“The player cost ten million, Tottenham offered five. A deal could be done for seven or eight, but by then Tottenham couldn’t spend any money.
“I spoke to the boy a couple of times via FaceTime, he really wanted to come, but he couldn’t come. And now it’s this ‘rotten’ defender playing there, Kim.
Mourinho wanted to sign a defender from Tottenham but didn’t get his wish and it’s now clear that the South Korean was one of the targets.
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The Roma manager’s jibe was aimed at Spurs bosses who apparently doubted Kim’s potential despite his football education.
The defender played in his homeland until 2019, then moved to China before moving to Fenerbahçe in Turkey in 2021 as he attracted interest from Champions League level clubs.
Napoli got their man in the summer after being impressed with him and Europe’s top sides, including Manchester United, are now showing interest.
