Jose Mourinho has made astonishing claims that Manchester United did not support him in the same way they did Erik ten Hag.
During his time at Old Trafford, the Portuguese strategist led the Red Devils to both Europa League and Carabao Cup victories between 2016 and 2018, in addition to finishing second in the Premier League.
But in December 2018, following a Premier League loss to Liverpool that dropped the team to sixth place and 11 points outside of a Champions League finish, he was mercilessly sacked.
Even though they still have two games remaining, United is currently seventh in the standings, 16 points behind Aston Villa in fourth.
Their current bad form is highlighted by the fact that they have only won once in their previous five games in the English top division and that they needed a penalty shootout to defeat Championship team Coventry City in the FA Cup semifinals. However,
Ten Hag is still in the lead and is probably going to stay there till the end of the current campaign.
Mourinho bemoaned in an interview with The Telegraph the lack of strong professional support he received during his tenure, something he believes Ten Hag is now getting.
“I had an excellent relationship with [previous CEO] Ed Woodward. Excellent from a personal perspective, Mourinho remarked.
“We send an SMS right now. However, in terms of professionalism, it wasn’t the finest. I am the person I am. I love playing football. Ed has a different upbringing than Ten Hag did during his tenure at Manchester United, and I did not.”
“I didn’t receive that degree of assistance. That was not my degree of trust. I felt like I was only starting the process, so I left feeling depressed. There were times when I thought things may be different if they had trusted me and believed in my experience.”
Mourinho’s tactics caused a rift in the dressing room amongst some prominent players, notably Luke Shaw, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The majority of his teammates have left the team, but Martial and Shaw are still members of United’s roster.
The 61-year-old coach stated the following even though he did not specifically name anyone: “A few guys who I didn’t want five or six years ago are still there. They seem to embody a small portion of what I believe to be the least ideal professional profile for a club of a particular size. I did my job there, though. Time is a truth-teller. Success for Manchester United would be wonderful.”
If Ten Hag leaves United at the end of the current season, he could rejoin his old team, Ajax, for the 2024–25 campaign. The Premier League team has been linked to current Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel, who is set to depart the team this summer and is reportedly considering alternatives in the market.
