Dec 18, 2023, 05:05 AM ET
José Mourinho has said he told Manchester United that they couldn’t succeed with some of the players and staff that remain at the club during his tenure there.
Mourinho managed United from 2016 to 2018, winning the Europa League and Carabao Cup in his first season and finishing second to Manchester City in 2017-18. He has been coach of Roma since the start of the 2021-22 season.
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“There are still people in that club, and when I say people I mean some players but also some other people that are not players, that are still there when I told [United] after two months: With these people, you are never going to do it. And they are still there,” Mourinho told John Obi Mikel’s Obi One podcast.
Mourinho also said a player’s reaction at United to being substituted made him realise he had to adapt his managerial style.
José Mourinho’s final game as Manchester United coach came in a 3-1 loss to Liverpool at Anfield in December 2018. Photo by Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images
“At Man United, I changed a player at half-time… his agent was then accusing me of bullying,” the Portuguese coach said.
“I had to change. I remember these times, and I laugh about these times, but it’s different times.”
Roma are seventh in Serie A after Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Thiago Motta’s Bologna — but Mourinho said after the game he would like to continue his work in the Italian capital beyond the end of his contract in June 2024.
“I am frustrated by many things — but none of those are stronger than my feelings of closeness to this club,” Mourinho said.
“If I leave at the the end of the season, it will not be my decision. I want to continue here and I say this because sometimes it is better to be clear.
“If we cannot sign top players, like [Romelu] Lukaku for example, it is better to work with young players than guys who don’t give you anything.”
Mourinho has previously said he rejected a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia but he is “convinced” he will work in the Gulf nation one day.
Roma finished sixth in Serie A last season and reached the final of the Europa League. They won the Europa Conference League in Mourinho’s first season in charge.
