I played for Jose Mourinho and fought off hooligans on the PITCH, but nothing scared me like a video call with Tom Brady

BRIGHT OSAYI-SAMUEL once punched a fan knocking him to the ground during a pitch invasion in Turkey.

But when first faced by NFL legend Tom Brady on a video call trying to get him to join Birmingham this summer he admits he became “scared”.

The Nigeria right-back — signed from Turkish club Fenerbahce — floored a Trabzonspor supporter who was attacking his team-mates after a game in March 2024 with a fierce blow to the head.

However, Osayi-Samuel, 27, admits he was so intimidated by Brady’s presence he bottled out of taking a screenshot of his video chat with the Birmingham shareholder.

He laughed: “I remember the first video call with him. The majority owner Tom Wagner was also on it.

“The minute the call was done, I called my friends and said, “I’ve just had a video chat with Tom Brady’ but they didn’t believe me.

“So I was annoyed I hadn’t gone ahead and screenshotted it as evidence — but I was so scared he might see me doing that!

“He was straight to the point, not pulling any punches, and said, ’If you want to join a club that wants to go to the Premier League, this is it.’

“And you cannot argue with what they’ve done over the last year. After going down to League One, they invested in quality players, got promoted with a record 111-points and added to the squad again. The only talk here is, ‘We’re going to be in the Premier League this time next year.’ I like that. It convinced me to sign.”

Osayi-Samuel, who penned a three-year deal, has been getting a huge feel for the club by watching the five-part Amazon Prime documentary series Built in Birmingham: Brady & The Blues.

He said: “It’s an inspiration. It shows the highs and lows of this club and how huge getting to the Premier League will be for the whole community.”

And the Nigerian is desperate to join his ex-QPR team-mate and school pal Eberechi Eze in the top flight.

Crystal Palace and England star Eze, 27, is currently being chased by Arsenal.

The pair both attended and played together at John Roan School in Greenwich before later being reunited at Loftus Road after Osayi-Samuel was signed from Blackpool.

He said: “Myself, Eberechi, Illias Chair and a couple of others at QPR used to play two-touch for about an hour then chill together to just talk about what we can achieve.

“We all knew we were good enough but it was about believing in ourselves and being consistent.

“From the minute I played with Eze more at QPR I knew he’d go far. And I still believe he’s going even further because, for me, he’s in the top three players I’ve ever played with.

“He’s so talented. You can see it in games but when you see his ability consistently in training, what he’s done to a lot of players, it’s frightening.

“Eberechi has won the FA Cup for Crystal Palace and got England caps — but he’s good enough to be in a team that can win the Premier League and play in Europe week in, week out.

“I can see that he’s getting better but I feel it’s difficult because of his age. We’re both getting older now and teams generally look for younger players.

“But he’s so fit and just needs that opportunity. The minute he gets it, he’ll surprise a lot of people. He can be a matchwinner for one of the top clubs.

“Hopefully I can join him in the Premier League, that’s the plan.”

Osayi-Samuel spent four years at Fenerbahce after joining from QPR and says he “left English football as a boy but returns as a man”.

And last season he got to play for legendary boss Jose Mourinho — getting to experience both his tough and fun sides.

He said: “The first day when I met him, before even having a chance to say ‘hi’, he told me, ‘You’re a good player — but need to run more.’

“I was so nervous before meeting him. I asked some of the players, ‘how is he?’ just so I didn’t say something that could be wrong.

“But when you actually speak to him, he’s like your brother. He makes you feel cool, calm and asks a lot of questions about your family and background.

“He told me how much he loves African players because they’re strong and fast. He talked a lot about Didier Drogba and Michael Essien and how they were like brothers.”

Osayi-Samuel admits he has a few funny Mourinho anecdotes but his favourite was after Fenerbahce lost 3-1 at home to Galatasaray last September.

He said: “After the game their manager was trying to say something to the ref but said something under his breath to Mourinho that he took exception to.

“Mourinho literally turned around and pinched his nose. That’s him — you can’t mess with him. But he’s a great coach.”

Osayi-Samuel became a cult hero at Fenerbahce after bravely taking on the Trabzonspor fan. Despite clouting the pitch invader, he escaped any punishment from the Turkish football hierarchy

He said: “We won in the last minute and celebrated like every team would but their fans came onto the pitch. There was a scuffle and I honestly can’t remember exactly what happened.

“But once I got back to Istanbul I had thousands of fans there to show me support. It’s not just a football club, it’s a family.

“And that is what I’m feeling right now here in Birmingham.”