Jesse Lingard has opened up on his relationship with former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, revealing he used to FaceTime him regularly.
Lingard ended his 22-year association with the club over the summer following a disastrous final season which saw him start just four games.
His best stint at Old Trafford came under Mourinho between 2016 and 2018. During that time, United won the League Cup and Europa League, with Lingard scoring in the final of the latter against Southampton.
Mourinho knew how to get the best out of Lingard, who also managed to establish himself as a regular in the England team. Check out Lingard discussing their relationship below.
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Lingard had broken into the United setup under Louis van Gaal a few months before Mourinho's arrival but there's no doubt he took his game to the next level.
Despite Mourinho splashing out on Henrikh Mkhitaryan, he put his faith in the United academy graduate. Lingard went on to score five goals and register three assists in the last term United tasted any silverware.
Naturally, he grew close with his manager. Lingard revealed during an episode of The Diary of a CEO podcast that Mourinho would call him up every single day.
The 30-year-old, who is now at Nottingham Forest, even joked he'd ask for the whereabouts of close friend and fellow United forward Marcus Rashford.
He said: "Even with Jose, Jose used to FaceTime me randomly. A couple of times I'd be driving and he'd be trying to FaceTime me.
"He'd say 'where are you kid?' and I'd tell him I'm driving home from Selfridges. Then he'd ask about Marcus and I'd say I don't know think he's at home. Then he'd tell me to enjoy myself and hang up."
Mourinho was sacked in December 2018 after a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool. Despite a purple patch under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during his stint as caretaker manager, Lingard struggled when the Red Devils legend was appointed on a permanent basis.
He believes standards at United started to slip following the departure of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Lingard continued: "There was no control. When Ferguson was there, it was full control. A fortress - everything went through him. Contracts, commercial deals, everything.
"Of course, generations change, players grow up and people have a voice. When things are getting said about you that are not true, you are going to voice your opinion.
"It wouldn't have happened back in the day - it would have been squashed there and then with Sir Alex. But now, people have got platforms to voice their own opinion and write what they want."
Lingard also claims he was denied a loan move to Newcastle United last January, despite not being in interim boss Ralf Rangnick's plans.
Topics: Manchester United, Jose Mourinho, Jesse Lingard, Premier League
Daniel Marland