'Jose Mourinho Killed Everyone at Real Madrid, Even Cristiano Ronaldo' – Emmanuel Adebayor
Emmanuel Adebayor has claimed that Jose Mourinho “killed everyone” in Real Madrid’s changing room, including Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Togo international spent the second half of the 2010-11 season on loan at the Santiago Bernabeu when Mourinho was in charge of the club.
And Adebayor has lifted the lid on one dressing-room meltdown that saw Mourinho take out his frustration on his fellow Portuguese.
“At Real, we were winning 3-0 at half-time. [Mourinho] came into the dressing room and went mental,” he recalled to Sportsmail.
“He kicked the fridge, kicked the television, threw water. He killed everyone. I remember he once killed Ronaldo after he scored a hat-trick.
“He said, ‘Everyone says you are the best in the world and you are playing badly. Show me you are the best’.
“Cristiano took it. Ronaldo could score a hat-trick but talk about the one he missed.”
Adebayor also revealed the prodigious work rate with which Ronaldo approached training at Madrid.
“He trained with us at Real Madrid as though he was training with his kids,” added Adebayor.
“Passes with his back, control with his neck. He once kept the ball for five seconds with one touch! How is that even possible?
“In the gym, wow. Sergio Ramos and I were the strongest. But then came Ronaldo. ‘You think that’s hard?’ he’d say. We’d do five reps and he’d do 30.”
Adebayor scored eight times in his 22 appearances for Los Blancos while on loan from Manchester City in 2011.
The striker currently plies his trade in Turkey for Istanbul Basaksehir and has managed 28 goals and eight assists in 74 appearances in all competitions for them since joining as a free agent in 2017.
The maverick striker has turned out for numerous clubs in his career, including Arsenal, Monaco, Tottenham and Crystal Palace.