“Jose Mourinho said that they are virus and they will keep on making the club look small as far as they are still at the club. And after all these years they are still at the club. No wounder Manchester United are still the same”-Three of the four players Jose Mourinho ‘named and shamed’ at Man Utd are still at the club as he eyes return
“Jose Mourinho said that they are virus and they will keep on making the club look small as far as they are still at the club. And after all these years they are still at the club. No wounder Manchester United are still the same”-Three of the four players Jose Mourinho ‘named and shamed’ at Man Utd are still at the club as he eyes return
It’s been half a decade since Jose Mourinho, the self-proclaimed ‘Special One,’ openly criticized four Manchester United players for lacking the “character” and “personality” he deemed essential. Despite the passage of time, three of those players—Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford, and Anthony Martial—are still donning the Old Trafford jersey.
In a pivotal moment back in November 2018, during a challenging period for United, Mourinho took a bold step by addressing the issue in an interview with Univision, a US Spanish-language TV channel. When asked about his assessment of the young talents at United by Barcelona legend Hristo Stoichkov, Mourinho pointed fingers at Luke Shaw, a player he had previously sidelined, along with Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, and Jesse Lingard, urging them to elevate their game.
According to Mourinho, the missing ingredient in these players was “maturity” at a personal level. He elaborated on the changing dynamics of social life and the presence of an ‘entourage’ surrounding modern players, providing them with more protection, affection, and excuses, which he believed slowed down their maturation process.
Luke Shaw, now a prominent left-back for the national team, was specifically mentioned by Mourinho as someone with great potential but lacking competitiveness when he arrived at the club. The manager emphasized the need for character, personality, and a certain level of aggression that he felt was lacking in these young talents.
A month after this revealing interview, Mourinho’s tenure at Old Trafford came to an end following a defeat to Liverpool, leaving United far from the Premier League top four. Despite the managerial change, Shaw, Rashford, and Martial continued their journey with the club, currently finding themselves in the ninth spot in the league table. In contrast, Jesse Lingard, released by Nottingham Forest last year, is now a free agent.
Fast forward to the present, Mourinho, having left Italian side AS Roma in January, is reportedly eyeing a surprising return to Old Trafford. Rumors suggest that the 61-year-old believes he has ‘unfinished business’ at the Premier League club. The Daily Mail reports that Mourinho is interested in collaborating with the new regime at United, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS taking over football operations as part of a significant investment in the club.
As the football landscape continues to evolve, the narrative of these players’ journeys and Mourinho’s potential return to Manchester United adds another layer to the ongoing drama in the world of football.
