Sun journalist Rob Beasley has released a book entitled ‘Mourinho: Up Close and Personal’ in which he claims Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho called Wayne Rooney ‘the fat boy’ when trying to sign him as Chelsea manager in 2013.
In an extract from his upcoming book, released by the Daily Mail , Beasley tells how the Chelsea manager “sauntered” over to him and his 12-year-old son to discuss his pursuit of Rooney.
“Jose’s opening line was a corker: ‘What do you think of us trying to sign the Fat Boy?'”
Earlier in the summer, Beasley quotes Mourinho in saying about Rooney: “I like him, he is at a fantastic age. He has maturity and big experience.”
A few weeks later he added: “I have always said what I think and I like the player very much.”
Rooney’s position in United’s team has come under threat after a number of poor performances. Beasley is known at The Sun for his Chelsea-leanings though it seems somewhat peculiar that he would choose now as the time to release a book; one might think that in releasing controversial statements such as the above, Beasley is trying to politically engineer a difficult start to life for the ex-Chelsea boss.