Former Spurs player opens up on ‘surprise’ phone call he got from Mourinho

Fulham striker Carlos Vinicius has revealed the details of Jose Mourinho’s phone call prior to his switch to Tottenham and admitted that he remains in touch with the Portuguese coach.

After finishing the 2019/20 season as the top scorer in the Portuguese top flight, Tottenham snapped up Vinicius on loan for the 2020/21 season.

However, the centre-forward didn’t get too many opportunities in the Premier League with the majority of his 22 appearances coming in the Europa League and cup competitions (Tranfermarkt).

Vinicius still had a decent goal return during his time in North London, finding the back of the net 10 times and providing three assists but Spurs chose against taking up the option to sign the striker for £36m at the end of his loan spell (SkySports).

The Brazilian subsequently spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan at PSV Eindhoven, where he notched up 14 goal contributions (Transfermarkt).

Vinicius completed a return to the Premier League last summer, with Fulham paying £5m to snap up the former Tottenham man from Benfica, and the 28-year-old has been a bit-part player at Craven Cottage this season, having scored twice and provided two assists so far.

The centre-forward has revealed that he was in disbelief when he was first informed of Mourinho and Spurs’ interest back in 2020.

Vinicius told Record: “When they told me about it, they told me that Mourinho would call me and I didn’t believe it.

“So he called me on FaceTime’ and asked me: ‘So, how are you?’ Don’t wear Havaianas, alright? This isn’t Brazil, it’s very cold here.’ 

“I started to laugh, then sent me a message saying everything was ready to go to Tottenham.

“His call surprised me. Everyone knows Mourinho tough, but when you know the other side there is a Mourinho with a lot of heart.

“I’m friends with him until today. He’s someone I have a lot of affection for. He helped me a lot at Tottenham.”

Spurs Web Opinion

It is good to see that Vinicius looks back at his time at Tottenham fondly and views it as a learning experience even though he might perhaps be justified in feeling a little aggrieved that he did not get more opportunities despite impressing whenever he played.

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