A furious Jose Mourinho has vowed to sell an unnamed Roma player in January after claiming he “betrayed” his teammates.
The Giallorossi played out a 1-1 draw in Serie A with Sassuolo on Wednesday evening. Tammy Abraham, who has been struggling for goals of late, put Mourinho’s men in front with a fine second-half header, but they couldn’t hold on for victory, with Andrea Pinamonti notching an 85th-minute equaliser for the hosts.
The result leaves Roma sitting sixth in the table ahead of their weekend clash with Torino at the Stadio Olimpico - their final match ahead of the World Cup.
Former Chelsea, Spurs and Manchester United boss Mourinho was largely pleased with his players’ efforts during his post-match press conference.
But the Portuguese did not hold back in his assessment of one player - who he refused to name - labelling him “unprofessional” and declaring he would be sold in the next transfer window.
"It was a team that wanted to win against a tough opponent, I am sorry that the efforts of the team were betrayed by the attitude of one unprofessional player," said Mourinho.
“He betrayed all the others. I didn't talk about [Roger] Ibanez against Lazio like that, because the attitude was top. His mistake is part of the game. But the unprofessional and incorrect attitude that is not fair to his teammates, that is what disappoints me.”
Pressed on the unnamed player he added: "I won’t tell you.
“I had 16 players on the pitch today, I liked the attitude of 15 of them. The other player, I won't say who it is, I didn’t like and I said so. He betrayed everyone else's effort. In January, he needs to find himself another club."
According to Italian daily Corriere dello Sport, the player to whom Mourinho is referring is full-back Rick Karsdorp, a second-half substitute at the Mapei Stadium.
The Dutchman, 27, was a regular during Mourinho's first season in the Italian capital, but has largely been back up to Turkish international Zeki Celik this term, following his arrival from French outfit Lille.
Karsdorp is under contract until June 2025, having joined Roma from Feyenoord in 2017 for £13million.