Chelsea set for Club World Cup reunion with star who was 'betrayed' by Jose Mourinho

Chelsea are set for an awkward Club World Cup reunion with a player who had a tough time at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues have been drawn against Flamengo, Mexico’s Club Leon and ES Tunis of Tunisia in next summer’s revamped tournament. And it is their meeting with the Brazilian giants, Flamengo, which will throw up an interesting dynamic between Enzo Maresca and his opposite number.

As of September, Filipe Luis has been in charge of Flamengo, where he spent the last four years of his professional career. The 39-year-old retired in 2023 and moved swiftly into management with the club’s youth teams, before being promoted all the way up to the senior side in less than 12 months.

Luis had a distinguished playing career, winning league titles in England, Spain and in his homeland. But his £16million move to Chelsea in 2014 did raise some eyebrows when, come the first day of the season, he was left on the bench.

The left-back failed to nail down a starting role in his solitary Premier League season and rejoined Atletico Madrid after only one year away. Reflecting on his Stamford Bridge spell six years after departing, Luis admitted he felt ‘betrayed’ by Jose Mourinho, who brought him to Chelsea only to leave him primarily on the sidelines in what turned out to be a league-winning campaign.

He explained: “When I was on the bench for the first game of the season I knocked on Mourinho’s office door and said: ‘Why did you bring me here? Why didn’t you just leave me at Atletico?’

“He said that he didn’t feel as secure defensively with me in the team as he did with [Cesar] Azpilicueta. He said I had to win my place. I couldn’t expect that because of my name I was going to be first choice.

“He was right. I wasn’t playing well. But I also think you have to be on the pitch to improve. I never regretted the move because I was at one of the biggest clubs in the world but everyone wants to play!

“At the time I felt betrayed, for want of a better word. I did not want to work for Mourinho for another year. But it was not his fault. We won the [League Cup] final and I have the medal at home!”

Luis rounded off his career by racking up another century of La Liga appearances for Atletico – as he did during an impressive first spell – and signing for Flamengo, where his budding coaching career got started.