Former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho says the club have given Erik ten Hag more trust and support than he had when he was in charge.
The 61-year-old won the Europa League and League Cup during his time at Old Trafford, but was sacked in 2018 after failing to challenge for the Champions League places that season.
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Since his dismissal, the Red Devils have only won one trophy – the 2023 League Cup – and have failed to re-establish their dominance of the Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Mourinho has delivered success at almost every club he has managed and believes he could have done a lot more in Manchester had he enjoyed a better relationship with former chief executive Ed Woodward.
Since Mourinho’s sacking, neither Solskjaer, the interim Ralf Rangnick, and now Ten Hag have been unable to better his second-place finish
✍️ @SAMWALLACETEL#TELEGRAPHFOOTBALL | #MUFC
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) APRIL 22, 2024
He told The Telegraph: “My relationship with Ed Woodward was good. Good as in the personal point of view.
“Even now we send an SMS. 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. 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.”
Mourinho often complained about the lack of quality and professionalism from some of his squad during his tenure at United and had multiple public fallouts with the likes of Paul Pogba and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The former Chelsea tactician even admitted wanting to sell some players who remain in Ten Hag’s squad today.
Jose Mourinho is surprised there are still certain players playing for Man Utd
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— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) APRIL 22, 2024
He added: “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.”
