Jose Mourinho would have 'loved' to have current Man Utd man 'on his side' during time at Old Trafford

Jose Mourinho has named the person he would have "loved" to work alongside during his time at Manchester United – and he currently plays a key role behind the scenes at Old Trafford.

The 60-year-old has opened up about his short, but eventful, spell at Manchester United in a recent YouTube podcast with former Chelsea midfielder John Obi-Mikel.

Mourinho, who succeeded Louis van Gaal in the summer of 2016, lifted the Community Shield, League Cup and Europa League in his first season at Old Trafford.

He would also guide United to a runners-up spot in the Premier League; an achievement he names as one of the best in his distinguished career to date.

But the Portuguese manager was sacked in 2018 after the United board grew frustrated with first-team results, transfers, development of youth and style of football.

Jose Mourinho once dismissed any talk of a rift between himself and then-CEO Ed Woodward but there was a belief around the club that their relationship was far-from-perfect.

Five years on from his sacking and the self-proclaimed 'Special One' has appeared to aim a subtle dig at Woodward when speaking about the "amazing" Richard Arnold, who will step down from his role as United's chief executive in the coming months.

In fact, after suggesting there are still players and staff at the club who make it difficult for a manager to succeed, Mourinho said he would have "loved" to work alongside Arnold.

"I don’t have regrets because I gave everything and did the maximum I could do. I love the club, I love the fans, the history is something you have to respect and appreciate," he told The Obi One Podcast.

"The second position [2017/18] is still the best after Sir Alex Ferguson, the European cup is still the biggest achievement in the past 10 years or so. I did my best and it's not in my nature to go back and speak about - I like to speak about the good things of the past.

"There are still people at that club and when I say people, I say some players, but also some other people who aren't players, they're still there and after two months with these people, you are never going to do it [succeed].

"But they still have one CEO who is an amazing person, who I would have loved to have during my time there but I didn't, which is Richard Arnold, who is now leaving.

"I had him as a general commercial director, not the CEO. I would have loved to have him on my side during my time there, but the club was not easy, so I don't have regrets because I gave everything."

Image credit: Getty

Mourinho added: "The fans know how much I love the club and I went there once with Sky, I was in the box and the whole stadium turned to me applauding and singing for me.

"If that happens when I go to Inter, [Real] Madrid, Porto or Chelsea, you say ok this is because of everything we won, but when you got to Man United, a club with that history and they do that for a coach, who won a Europa League, a cup, a second position and a charity shield, you arrive at the conclusion they know that I gave everything that I could."

Topics: Manchester United, Jose Mourinho, Premier League

Jack Kenmare

Senior Journalist at SPORTbible with a passion for long-form journalism. Almost 10 years’ experience across online and print.

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