Marko Arnautovic was one of the Premier League’s biggest mavericks, but Jose Mourinho knew exactly how to handle him.
The Austrian star played for Stoke City and West Ham but it was Inter Milan where he came under the leadership of ‘The Special One’.
Marko Arnautovic is one of football’s biggest maverick starsGetty
Joining the Italian giants on loan from Twente as a fresh-faced 20-year-old, Arnautovic had already proven himself as a potential top-tier talent with 14 goals and eight assists as the Dutch side finished second in the Eredivisie.
However he was also building a reputation as a hot-headed personality who would be managed.
Having joined Inter in the summer of 2009, Arnautovic was part of the group who traveled to the Middle-East on a pre-season trip – a place where the forward’s poor time-keeping got him into a spot of bother.
Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2017, Arnautovic said: “We were at Abu Dhabi for pre-season with Inter in 2009.
“I overslept for breakfast. Late No 1.
“Then there was the team meeting. The hotel was huge and my room was on the 75th floor.
“I am waiting for the lift and I press and I press and still I have got seven minutes so I am OK. But then I still didn’t make it. Disaster No 2.
“Then before we meet for the game it was happening again and I was like: ‘He is going to kill me’.
“So then we fought a little bit and I was out of the team that day, training on my own.”
It wasn’t the best first impression by Arnautovic, but the Austrian tried everything to get back in Mourinho’s good books.
Arnautovic spent the 2009/10 season on loan at Inter, making just three appearances for the senior sideGetty
Mourinho spent two successful years at Inter before joining Real Madrid in 2010getty
“Back in Milan I thought we were training in the morning and I went in just perfect.
“There were no cars there. We were actually training in the afternoon that day!
“Mourinho is there with his staff and he stands up and starts applauding and laughing.
“He said: ‘You are my man. You come here five hours before training. I love you! Here, take my watch’.
“I still have that watch in my house!”
Unfortunately Arnautovic’s first spell with Inter didn’t exactly go to plan, making just three substitute appearances under Mourinho over the season.
Making the decision not to sign the player permanently, Mourinho famously described Arnautovic as ‘a fantastic person with the attitude of a child’.
Responding to his comments, Arnautovic said: “I don’t see it as rude, I know what he meant.”
The Austrian went on to join Werder Bremen that summer before scoring 48 goals in 210 games for Stoke City and West Ham.
In the summer of 2023, Arnautovic moved back to Inter on loan, this time scoring eight times in 38 games with the move becoming permanent over the summer.
