Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has slammed Jose Mourinho's decision to sell him at Chelsea in 2004.
Hasselbaink enjoyed a superb stint at Stamford Bridge after joining from Atletico Madrid in 2000 - netting 67 Premier League goals for the Blues.
Yet the appointment of manager Jose Mourinho in 2004 spelled the end of the Dutchman's Chelsea career.
The Portuguese boss sent Hasselbaink to Middlesbrough on a free transfer and the 50-year-old has criticised his former manager's decision.
Speaking to Kammy and Ben's Proper Football podcast, Hasselbaink said: 'I was absolutely gutted. More gutted because Mourinho never spoke to me.
'I bet you that Mourinho had been told that I was a difficult lad, hard to work with and all that kind of stuff - which was not the case at all.'
Despite the Dutchman arriving at Chelsea for an English record transfer fee, Mourinho was quick to dismiss the striker - instead opting to sign Didier Drogba as his first choice No 9.
But the current Burton Albion boss believes that he would have formed a potent strike partnership with the former Ivory Coast international.
Hasselbaink added: 'They got Drogba - what a signing - but surely I could have featured alongside him. I've spoken to Mourinho, he said, 'yes, I made a mistake there.'
'I don't care what he said. He should have kept me and I would have had a medal.'
The Blues won two Premier League titles, two League Cups, the FA Cup and a Community Shield in the following three seasons under Mourinho.
The Portuguese manager famously dubbed himself as 'the special one' on his arrival at Stamford Bridge in 2004. However Hasselbaink is not of the same opinion.
He concluded: 'He's a brilliant coach, absolutely magnificent what he's done in football, but he was never the special one for me.'