Jose Mourinho spent two-and-a-half-years in charge of Man Utd (Picture: Getty)
Richard Keys has explained how Jose Mourinho executed a mad plan to get himself sacked as Manchester United manager in December 2018.
Mourinho spent two-and-a-half-years in charge of the Red Devils, registering a Europa League trophy, a Carabao Cup title and a runner-up Premier League finish.
The 61-year-old was dismissed after a poor start in 2018-19, with just seven wins from 17 top-flight games leaving United 19 points behind the league leaders.
But Keys has claimed that Mourinho actually wanted the club to sack him and left out Paul Pogba for three straight games to make it happen.
‘He once told me he knew he’d be sacked at United for leaving Pogba out of three consecutive games,’ Keys wrote in his blog on Wednesday.
‘At a time when the Frenchman’s stock was at its highest. All planned. And it worked perfectly. He wanted the sack. He got it.’
Mourinho signed Pogba for his second United stint in 2016 but the pair regularly clashed and their relationship turned sour following a series of fall-outs.
Paul Pogba was branded a ‘virus’ by Jose Mourinho (Picture: Getty)
More Trending
The Portuguese boss branded Pogba ‘a virus’ in front of his teammates while the French midfielder says he suffered from depression after working with Mourinho.
Having left Roma, Mourinho is currently out of work and has been linked to the Chelsea job amid mounting pressure on Mauricio Pochettino.
Mourinho is also thought to be open to a second spell at Old Trafford should the club wish to replace Erik ten Hag.
Manchester United news, exclusives and analysis
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.