Jose Mourinho has finally responded to the couple of thinly-veiled digs that Gareth Bale had taken against him after the the Portuguese was sacked by Spurs in April, with Mourinho now raising doubts about the Welshman’s ability to impress in big games as the new Roma boss took his own veiled shot at his former player.
Bale had played under Mourinho recently at Tottenham, although the then on-loan Real Madrid forward failed to to get the minutes he was hoping for under the Portuguese coach.
Previewing the upcoming Euro 2020 tournament, Mourinho appeared to take a swipe of his own at Bale as he questioned the Wales talisman’s ability to perform against big teams. The Portuguese also expressed doubts about whether Wales would be able to progress beyond the group stages of Euro 2020.
“Over the years Wales have relied a lot on Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, the two most talented players in the country,” Mourinho wrote in his Sun column.
“But when I look to the club season and how many matches Ramsey played at Juventus… there were lots of injuries.
“When we look to Gareth and how many great performances he had, how many goals he scored against the best teams, there were not many or none.
“It’s not an easy situation for a country without many options.
“But they are always well organized and know how to create a situation to try to get the best out of the more talented players.
“Dan James is fast and is the one that can break defenders.
“With the small group of players they are doing amazingly well, so lots of respect. But it will be hard for them even to qualify for the next phase.”
Wales will come up against Italy, Switzerland and Turkey in Group A of Euro 2020, with their first game coming next Saturday.