Jose Mourinho has gifted Ghanaian forward Felix Afena-Gyan shoes worth £670. Converted to local currency, the shoes gifted to the wonderkid are worth over 360,000 naira.
The shoes from Mourinho to Felix Afena-Gyan comes after the teenage sensation netted his first goals in AS Roma's victory away against Genoa at the weekend.
The game was tied and Mourinho decided to introduce Afena-Gyan for Eldor Shomurodov in the 74th minute. The 18-year-old striker scored in the 82nd and 94th minute to give Roma all three points.
After the game, he spoke about his relationship with the two-time UEFA Champions League winner. He said, "He is teaching me a lot and I am learning a lot from him.
"He is someone who has achieved a lot during his career and he is a great person. I am glad to be working with him. He encourages me day-in and day-out to do everything that will help me improve in future. So I am happy to be working with Jose Mourinho. I thank him very, very much."
On Monday, Afena-Gyan took to his official Instagram account to post a video receiving the gift from Mourinho. Along with the video was a caption that said, "Forever grateful Sir, I’ll make you proud."
In the video, Afena-Gyan received the shoes from Mourinho, tried them on his feet and they shared a hug.
It also symbolizes the relationship between the player and the manager.
In the video, someone stated "there are bananas inside" which sparked allegations of racism. The player however has come out to explain that he "eats bananas a lot".
He later wrote: "I want to assure you all that I was not offended by the background comment made in the video in any way – and that I truly believe there was no racist intent.
"Since the first day I arrived at the club, I have been welcomed into the family by everyone, who have joked with me like they do all members of the family.
"Because they see that I eat bananas a lot that has become a thing we laugh about sometimes – and I believe the comment was another example of that.
"I feel at home here at Roma and I have done ever since I arrived. I am grateful for the support I have received from everyone here at Trigoria and don't like to think that people have got the wrong idea about things.
"Thanks for your concern, now let's get back to concentrating on the next game. Grazie and Forza Roma."
When Afena-Gyan scored the first goal of the game against Genoa he stormed to the touchline to celebrate with Mourinho. The Roma boss explained after the game at the post-match press conference the promise he made to Afena-Gyan.
He said, “I had promised to buy Felix the boots he really likes, which are really expensive. They cost €800 so he ran over and told me not to forget! Tomorrow morning, the first thing I do is buy him the boots.”
Mourinho also stated that Afena-Gyan will stay on with the first team as the Ghanaian forward has been impressive with his performances for the youth team since he arrived from Ghana.
He added, “I am sorry for the Primavera squad (Roma U23s), but Felix will stay with us.
“What impressed me the most was his cool head in front of goal. If he is not in terms of technique fantastic, he does have a strong mentality.
“You get these kids now who think they know everything, but he is humble and you can sense he just absorbs all this information from everyone around him. That’s fantastic.”
Afena-Gyan is expected to return to action when AS Roma takes on Zorya Luhansk in an Europa Conference League on Thursday, November 25, 2021.