Jose Mourinho: Man Utd tenure could have been different if club trusted me more

Jose Mourinho believes his time with Manchester United may have been more successful had he been afforded the same level of support and trust as current manager Erik ten Hag.

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 endured a difficult working relationship with former United chief executive Ed Woodward, was sacked in December 2018 after a poor run of results.

The fortunes of the 20-time English champions have improved little since his departure, with Dutchman Ten Hag taking over in 2022 following the tenures of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and interim coach Ralf Rangnick.

“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.

Manchester United has announced that Jose Mourinho has left the Club.

We would like to thank him for his work during his time at Manchester United and wish him success in the future. #MUFC

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 18, 2018

“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.”

Former Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid manager 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 “would love Manchester United to succeed” but suggested 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,” he said.

“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.”