When you manage football clubs such as Chelsea, Real Madrid & Inter Milan, you are going to be dealing with top class talent, & that is exactly what Jose Mourinho has done all through virtually his entire managerial career. Having won 25 trophies in less than 20 years as a manager, Jose is undoubtedly doing something right.

That being said, he has sometimes been accused of letting some very talented players slip through the net, & failing to recognize certain players abilities, particularly when it comes to young players. Here are our 7 best players sold by Jose Mourinho that he shouldn’t have sold:

7. Mohamed Salah

Egyptian winger Mo Salah put in a handful of invigorating performances against Chelsea before the Blues ultimately signed him in Jan. of 2014. In the end, he played about the same number of games for Chelsea as he had played against them, with Mourinho shipping him out twice on-loan & finally selling him to Roma in a deal worth around £15 million. 12 months & 19 goals later he became Liverpool's record signing, heading to Anfield in a deal that could be worth as much as £43 million. Salah has made a superb start to life on the Mersey, scoring six goals in nine games.

6. Juan Mata

Like with a number of players Jose Mourinho has sold, he has ended up managing Juan Mata once more at Manchester United. The likeable Spaniard was controversially considered expendable by Mourinho, having been Chelsea's best player for the last 2 seasons as they won the Champions League & the Europa League. Jose favored Brazilian's Oscar & Willian & their better-quality work rate though, & off Mata went to Manchester United for £37 million. The twosome have since been re-united at Old Trafford, with Mata making 42 appearances & scoring ten goals last season.

5. Arjen Robben

Undoubtedly one of the greatest players to have been sold by Jose Mourinho, Arjen Robben is an incomparable footballer. Injuries have let down some of the impact that he ought to have had on football, but he still has an amazing goal scoring record for a winger & is simply unstoppable on his day. Mourinho signed Robben for Chelsea in 2004, but sold him to Real Madrid for £24 million after 3 years. After 2 years in the Spanish capital, the Dutchman headed to Bayern Munich, where he has won 13 trophies & remains to this day.

4. Romelu Lukaku

Following 2 tremendous loan spells at West Bromwich Albion & Everton, Romelu Lukaku was barely the best kept secret in football, & it seemed to all the world that he had a massive future ahead of him. Mourinho only wanted to play one centre-forward at Chelsea though, & that man was Diego Costa - so he sold Lukaku to Everton for £28 million. Low & behold, the Belgian kept scoring goals & only got better. Three years later & without Diego Costa, Jose wanted Lukaku back, this time at Manchester United, & the Red Devils forked out £75 million (which could rise to £90 million) for the 24-year-old goal-getter.

3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

When Barcelona came for the legs  of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2009, Jose Mourinho wanted to keep his star man, but with Zlatan eager on a move to the Camp Nou, Jose made the best of a bad situation. He got a reported £59 million for the departing Swede, plus securing the services of Samuel Eto'o. Eto'o helped Inter win a momentous treble the following season, so it is fair to say the move worked out well for Mourinho, but Zlatan is still a world class footballer & deserves his place in this seven. As with Mata & Lukaku, Ibrahimovic is now back working with Jose at Manchester United, where the Swede is looking to get back to full fitness.

2. Leonardo Bonucci

Dissimilar to the case of Zlatan, Jose really dropped a ball when he sold Leonardo Bonucci to Genoa for just a few million pounds in 2009. Deemed dispensable by Mourinho, the centre-back has gone on to become one of the most excellent defenders in world football. He formed a fearsome back 3 alongside Giorgio Chiellini & &rea Barzagli at Juventus up until his departure for AC Milan in the summer, & won 6 Serie A titles & reached 2 Champions League finals with the Italian giants.

1. Kevin De Bruyne

Our pick for top spot is a player we are a big fan of, Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian was signed by Chelsea under AVB in Jan. 2012, & played just 3 league games in 2 years at Stamford Bridge. Following a highly remarkable loan spell at Werder Bremen, Mourinho sold De Bruyne to Wolfsburg in 2014 for £18 million. De Bruyne lit up the Bundesliga, with 16 goals & 20 assists, being named the Bundesliga Player of the Year.

Manchester City snapped him up for £55 million, just twelve months after Jose had let him go, & he has continued his rich vein of form in the Premier League. He scored sixteen goals in his first season at the Etihad & topped the Premier League assist charts in his second. Jose clearly misjudged De Bruyne, & now he will just be hoping it is him & the red side of Manchester & not De Bruyne & the blue side that get their hands on the Premier League title this season.