Ex-Real Madrid midfielder Pedro Leon has denied claims by former teammate Jerzy Dudek about his falling out with Jose Mourinho when they were all at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu five years ago.
Leon impressed as a youngster for Spain, and was a particular favourite of Blancos fans and pundits when he was bought from Getafe for €10 million by the Bernabeu club in summer 2010.
However, Mourinho may not have shared this positive view of the then 23-year-old's potential, and rarely used the playmaker in his first team, leading to a series of clashes with reporters in the Spanish capital.
The issue has simmered even after Pedro Leon returned to Getafe in 2011, and Mourinho left Madrid in 2013, and has flared up again after comments from Dudek's 2015 autobiography resurfaced with the Portuguese coach taking over at Manchester United.
Pedro Leon does not agree however with his former colleague's version of events, and took to Twitter to say that the former Poland and Liverpool goalkeeper needed to "rectify the lies" which he had written.
"Enough with the lies," Pedro Leon said on Twitter. "I want to clarify that these declarations are completely false, they have no truth of any kind and there are witnesses that can back that. Teammates who were with me at the time in the dressing room can confirm it. It is completely untrue and I demand these claims are rectified because of the damage they have caused against me."
Por favor, basta ya de mentiras.... pic.twitter.com/MXtX5spWc9
- Pedro León (@PLeonSanchez) May 26, 2016
Dudek had written in his book about what he says is the real reason Mourinho took against the youngster -- saying Pedro Leon's attitude was not up to the required level.
"We were drawing 0-0 and Mourinho told [Pedro Leon] to warm up but instead of doing so he just stood around by the corner flag," the book says -- according to AS. "I was sitting close to Mourinho and saw his reaction. He was furious: 'Look at his lack of effort. And then he gets offended when he doesn't play.'
"The next day we were training ahead of the Auxerre match," the extract continues. "Pedro Leon thought he was going to play but Mourinho called us together in the centre circle and said to him: 'I'm sorry, but you're not interested in playing for Real Madrid. Others would give their lives for this shirt, but not you.' He looked at Pedro and told him to watch the game at home because he needed players who would die for the team."
Another passage from the book, reported in Sport, has Mourinho harshly calling out Pedro Leon during training.
"You are unprofessional. You think you're cheating me? No. You're cheating your teammates. I saw your warm-up. You couldn't care less about it, but I put you on. Two balls you had to deliver. Two balls for the strikers to put into an empty net. But you were not prepared. Do you care about playing for Real Madrid? Everyone has their five minutes here. You've had yours."
Mourinho's first big row in what set the tone for his relationship with local media in Madrid had begun when he talked down his own player at a news conference ahead of a game against Levante early in the 2010-11 campaign.
"You talk of Pedro Leon as if he was [Zinedine] Zidane or [Diego] Maradona or [Alfredo] di Stefano," the Portuguese boss said at the time. "He was playing for Getafe two days ago."