Manchester United's imminent new signing Sergio Reguilon was once subjected to a quite brilliant gesture from Jose Mourinho but he ending up angering his manager in the process.
Mourinho signed the left-back in September 2020 and he made his debut in the 6-1 hammering of Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Reguilon's first months at Spurs were during the COVID-19 pandemic and he was without his family. And with the ex Sevilla man on his own for Christmas, Mourinho decided to surprise him with a special gift that was in his place when he returned from training on the big day.
"I open it up and it's a roast suckling pig, already cooked," he told AS.
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"He said to me 'I know you're alone at Christmas, and that way you don't have to cook and you'll eat well.'
"It's really important for a player that he keeps an eye on how you are, away from football."
Reguilon had already been given a pig by Mourinho him some Iberico ham, paying £500 for it - following on from a promise after Spurs beat Manchester City in November.
But Mourinho was then left disappointed, rather than angry, after it emerged that Reguilon was not in fact not on his own for Christmas.
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He was spotted at a party attended by 18 people at the house of Giovani Lo Celso's house, with Erik Lamela and Manuel Lanzini and families also present.
London had been in Tier 4 restrictions at the time and so the gathering was illegal. Spurs released a strong statement and pledged to investigate, but it was Mourinho's words which were the most damning.
"[It was] an amazing gift. Portuguese piglet - which is amazing for Portuguese and Spanish.
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"I gave him [one] because I was told he was going to spend Christmas on his own.
"He was not alone as you can see."
Reguilon was banished under Antonio Conte at Spurs and spent last season at Atletico Madrid.
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He has now been given permission to travel for a medical at United, who are set to sign him on loan.
The Red Devils are in desperate need of a new left-back with Luke Shaw's injury worse than first feared.
Topics: Manchester United, Sergio Reguilon, Tottenham Hotspur, Jose Mourinho
Josh Lawless