Jose Mourinho warns Man Utd stars he tried to get rid of ‘five or six years ago’ are still playing for the club

Mourinho was sacked by United in December 2018 (Picture: Getty)

Jose Mourinho says there are still players at Manchester United he tried to get rid of ‘five or six years ago’ playing for the first-team at Old Trafford.

‘The Special One’ arrived in Manchester in the summer of 2016, winning the League Cup and the Europa League in his first season in charge.

A second season in charge ended trophy-less and by December 2018, the end was nigh, sacked before Christmas with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brought into replace him.

Towards the end of his tenure, Mourinho repeatedly clashed with members of his United squad, singling out Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw for ‘lacking character’ and ‘not knowing how to behave’.

The Portuguese also clashed with Paul Pogba, reportedly calling the midfielder a ‘virus’ before his exit.

Mourinho also saw his attempts to bring in his own transfer targets blocked by United’s chief executive Ed Woodward, including a move for Croatian winger Ivan Perisic. He was also eager to sign Harry Maguire, who United signed the following year from Leicester City.

United have had three different managers since Mourinho’s departure but some members of his old squad remain, representing something he was eager to rid the club of.

Mourinho won the Europa League in his first season in charge (Picture: Getty)

‘I am a football man,’ Mourinho said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.

‘Ed [Woodward, United’s former chief executive] comes from a different background and what Ten Hag has in his time at Manchester United I didn’t have.

‘I didn’t have that level of support. I didn’t have that level of trust. So I left sad, because I felt I was in the beginning of the process.

More Trending

Read More Stories

‘In some moments, I felt if they trusted me and believed in my experience things could be different.

‘There are still a couple of players still there I didn’t want five or six years ago. I think they represent a little bit what I consider not the best professional profile to a club of a certain dimension.

‘But I did my job there. Time always tells the truth. I would love Manchester United to succeed.’

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.