Demba Ba has revealed that he 'made up' a reason to fight with his former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho due to his lack of game time.
The Senegal striker was third choice under Mourinho, and was not happy with his role at the club.
Speaking to the Athletic, Ba said that, therefore, he made up a reason to argue with his boss at the time.
“I had no reason to fight with him — so I made one up,” Ba said.
The striker continued to reveal how he was left out of the Chelsea squad to face West Brom, and showed his emotions: “So I’m thinking: ‘My name will be on the list’. I went out of the shower so quickly and dressed as quickly as I could and left the training facilities. I’m on my way home, and the team manager calls me: ‘Demba, where are you?’
“I say: ‘On my way home, I’m not in the squad.’ ‘No, no, you have to come back, Fernando is injured.’
“‘When I left, my name was not on the list, I’ve planned my day, I need to pick up my daughter, and go to mosque…’
“‘No, you have to be here in 30 minutes."
Demba Ba continued with the story: “Half an hour later, he calls again. ‘Where are you?’
“I say: ‘I’ll come, but I have to speak to the boss.’ So we talked, and we argued, outside his office. Jose said, ‘You’re not performing. A player who’s not performing doesn’t play.’ But I had prepared for this. I showed him the stats: I had played half the minutes of the other two but scored more than half of their goals in that time. Jose said, ‘OK, but it’s my decision. Now let’s go.’
“I replied, ‘It’s your decision, but it’s my decision to go home.’ I went down, past the bus, jumped in the car and drove off. That was me then (laughs). I was nuts. I missed the game. But you know what? From that moment on, our relationship really picked up! He suddenly played me a lot more. On the day of the Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid, he asked me to stay for another season. But I was impatient. I wanted to play regularly.”
Ba did end up leaving the club, departing for Besiktas due to lack of gametime, but still has fond memories of his time at Chelsea, where he lifted the UEFA Europa League.
More must-reads: