Jose Mourinho says current Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has had more support and trust compared to his own tenure, but still wants the club to succeed.
Mourinho won the Carabao Cup and Europa League in his first season at Old Trafford before finishing second in the Premier League the following campaign.
But the Portuguese, who revealed he had a difficult working relationship with former Man Utd chief executive Ed Woodward, was sacked in December 2018 after a poor run of results.
But Man Utd’s fortunes have not improved in the last five-and-a-half years. Ten Hag is the third manager to take charge of the club since then, following on from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2022, with Ralf Rangnick taking over in the interim.
“My relationship with Ed Woodward was good – good as in the personal point of view,” Mourinho told the Telegraph. “But from a professional point of view it was not the best.
“I am who I am. I am a football man. Ed 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.
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Sky Sports’ James Savundra and Peter Smith reflect on Manchester United’s dramatic FA Cup semi-final win over Coventry City at Wembley
“So I left sad, because I felt I was in the beginning of the process. In some moments, I felt if they trusted me and believed in my experience things could be different.”
Ten Hag has seen the incoming of new part-owner Sir John Ratcliffe this season. He is now in charge of running the football operations at the club along with a new set of directors.
Questions remain over what Ten Hag’s future could hold this summer and in terms of transfer spending, he does lead Mourinho. However, only by £10.1m, with Solskjaer seeing the biggest spend at £441m.
Having managed 37 more games with the club, Mourinho does lead in most statistical categories, including clean sheets and goals conceded.
But Ten Hag’s Man Utd have scored more goals per game – despite criticism this season that they have not been scoring enough and the current boss saying he would like to add a striker this summer.
Following his spell with United, Mourinho returned to the Premier League with Tottenham in 2019 before taking charge at Roma, a role he left in January.
The 61-year-old went on to suggest some squad members remaining from his tenure lack the professionalism to represent a club striving to compete with the world’s best.
“There are a couple of players still there I didn’t want five or six years ago,” Mourinho added.
“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.”
Neville predicts ‘turbulence’ ahead
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Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville dissect Manchester United’s narrow FA Cup semi-final win over Coventry and what the performance at Wembley could mean for Erik ten Hag and his future at Old Trafford
Sky Sports’ Gary Neville speaking on Sunday:
“The most important thing at the start of the day was that Manchester United joined Manchester City in that second Manchester derby on the bounce at Wembley in a few weeks. It’s unbelievable really – this team never cease to amaze you with the things they’re not capable of.
“I’m confused, not knowing what stage of the journey we’re on and what the idea is in terms of style of play. We still don’t know where we’re going and we’ve had this before in the last 10, 12 years. If you think what INEOS have done since they came in, they’ve essentially wiped out the whole top of the club. If they thought anything there was worth keeping, they would have kept it.
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The Soccer Sunday panel were unimpressed with Manchester United after they let a 3-0 lead slip in their FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City
“They’ll make the decision on the manager and the players at the end of the season – they were never going to sack Ten Hag in the middle of the season. But they’ve made huge structural changes and that’s the most potent thing, a sign that they weren’t happy with what they were seeing at the top of the club. I don’t think that will stop. There’s going to be some upheaval and turbulence for some time to come.”
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