Robert Beasley's 'Jose Mourinho: Up Close and Personal', which a few days ago revealed that the Portuguese manager threatened to break Arsene Wenger's face, tells the story of an apathetic Madrid side from 2012.
"Mourinho said that Madrid was a political club with warring factions and told me a story about Essien inviting teammates to his 30th birthday but only a few turned up," Beasley wrote.
"He had to console Essien, saying it was nothing personal and that it didn't mean the players didn't like him but they simply were only concerned with themselves and had better things to do."
The two players who attended were Luka Modric, and his former Chelsea teammate Ricardo Carvalho.
Mourinho's time in charge of Madrid from 2010 until 2013 was littered with controversy, including fall-outs with high-profile players such as .
It's not the only time a birthday party caused issues within Madrid's squad. In 2015, when a number of first-team players went out and celebrated Ronaldo's 30th birthday, hours after a 4-0 loss to local rivals Atletico Madrid.
Essien, is currently club-less, after recently rejecting a deal with A-League club Melbourne Victory.
