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Troy Parrott, the striker José Mourinho publicly humiliated during their time together at Tottenham Hotspur — famously labeling the fan favorite 'The Privileged One' — turned out to be the very player who scored the goal that handed 'The Special One' his first defeat of his second stint at Real Madrid.
Mourinho's cutting remarks are the stuff of legend. "I think sometimes I can be very aggressive with my vocabulary," the celebrated communicator confessed in his recent documentary. There was acknowledgment but no apology. Press conferences are "a place where I usually win," he said with a shrug.
Yet a career as combustible as Mourinho's, spanning more than two decades, is bound to include a handful of comments that even the Portuguese firebrand might one day wish he could take back.
Parrott had to wait over six years to deliver his own response on the pitch, but the "privileged" son did eventually come back to haunt his former boss.
Mourinho's 'Educational Process' With Parrott
Back in March 2020, Mourinho had no fit senior strikers at Tottenham, but he did have one youngster tearing it up for the U-23s. Parrott had generated such excitement among the Spurs faithful that fans had begun chanting for the then-21-year-old, who had just five minutes of Premier League experience under his belt.
"This is a world where lots of people, they don't even know if Troy has long hair or short hair. Or is blonde or is dark," Mourinho scoffed. "They don't even know that and speak about: Troy, Troy, Troy, Troy, he should play. There was a guy behind me on the bench the other day: 'Play Troy, play Troy.' I don't think he knows Troy."
Mourinho's hesitation to field Parrott was rooted in his attitude rather than his talent.
"Every time he was playing with the kids, he was playing with the mentality of, 'I shouldn't be here' or 'I am too good to be here' or 'It's not here that I want to play,'" the former Spurs boss claimed. "And this is an educational process that comes. I have no problem to say because I know that he will confirm."
"Troy cannot go there [the under‑age teams] with discontent, contempt. It is a process," Mourinho added.
The Portuguese manager saw enough promise in the striker's attitude to bring him on against Norwich City in the FA Cup that month, but Parrott had his penalty saved in an embarrassing shootout loss. He would never make another senior appearance under Mourinho.
The Republic of Ireland international was sent on loan to Millwall a few months after his very public dressing down and took the criticism on board. "To be fair, he's such an experienced manager and he's done nearly everything in the game, so if he feels like that's right then there must be some truth in it and I had to take it on the chin," Parrott said.
"I was speaking to coaching staff and players finding out what I needed to do to be better. Because, obviously, Mourinho has worked with some of the best strikers there's ever been."
Parrott never managed to establish himself at Tottenham, under Mourinho or any subsequent manager, but made a strong enough impression during two seasons in the Netherlands with AZ Alkmaar to secure an $18.6 million (£13.8 million, €16 million) transfer to Real Betis in the summer. After going scoreless in his first two appearances, Parrott introduced himself to his new home supporters with the only goal in Friday's tight win over Mourinho's Madrid.