José Mourinho has been speaking about his two-and-a-half years at the helm of Manchester United, where he says he harbours no regrets despite an ultimately disappointing period in charge at Old Trafford.
Mourinho arrived at United in 2016 and was widely expected to revive the Red Devils after a troublesome few years following Alex Ferguson’s retirement. However, the Portuguese found himself fired in December 2018 despite delivering a Europa League and an English League Cup during his first season, as well as a runners-up finish in his second term.
“I don’t have regrets because I gave everything and I did the maximum that I could do,” Mourinho said during an appearance on John Obi Mikel’s podcast. “I love the club, I love the fans. The club history is something that you can only respect and appreciate. I gave everything I could give. The 2nd position is still the best after Sir Alex’s generation. The European trophy is still the biggest achievement in the past ten years or so.
“I did my best. I usually like to speak about good things in the past and I don’t say it because of me, but there are still people in that club - some players but also some other people who aren’t players - who I told them after two months ‘with these people you are never going to do it’ and they are still there.
“And they still have one CEO who is an amazing person, who I would like to have had on my time, which is Richard Arnold who is probably now leaving. I had him as a commercial director, not a CEO. I would love to have had him on my time there. But the club was not easy.
“So I don’t have regrets because I gave everything and I think the Man United fans know I gave everything. They know how much I love the club. I went there once with SKY and I was in the SKY box doing my work. The stadium turned to me and applauded me. If that happens when I go to Inter or Madrid, Porto, Chelsea you say ‘okay this is because of everything you won’ but when it’s Man United with that history and they do that for a coach who just did a Europa League, a cup and a 2nd position, you arrive to the conclusion that they know I gave everything that I could.”
Mourinho closed the discussion on United with an apt anecdote: “When I was at Man Utd, I changed a player at half time and his agent was accusing me of bullying.”
By @SeanGillen9
