Luke Shaw has delivered a brilliant response to José Mourinho after the Manchester United manager launched a fierce criticism on four of his players.
The former Chelsea boss targeted the quartet of Shaw, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial last week, saying that they are "spoilt kids" and that they have "an easier environment" compared to past footballers at the club.
The 23-year-old England international was not upset by his manager's remarks.
"I kind of enjoyed it," he said (via the Manchester Evening News). "It was a very big challenge for me with some of the things he's said in the past, especially in the last year or two years.
"What he said the other day, that was more a generational thing, I don't think it was really aimed as much at us as individuals.
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"He's talking about nowadays' generation, as opposed to when he was a bit younger.
"You need a thick skin, of course, playing for the manager. But 100 per cent this club, it's the biggest club in the world and we as players need to take what's said on board and I keep saying it but we need to fight for the team, the manager and the fans and the club."
The Special One didn't hold back in his scathing comments, believing that he should be getting more out of United's younger players.
"They are lacking maturity," he told Univision. "And let me be clear when I say maturity, I mean maturity on a personal level.
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"We had more men, we were more mature, we were more prepared for life, we were less protected.
"They are spoilt kids now, the kids of today have a different life, an easier environment and I'm talking about the people around the players.
"These people give them too much affection and too many excuses. People mature much more slowly now.
"Luke Shaw, he's got big potential but doesn't know how to behave. Big potential, yes, big potential.
"We're talking about Luke Shaw, Martial, Lingard, Rashford -- young, big potential, but at the end of the day it results in the word I cannot say [cojones], but you use it a lot here... character, personality, they lack a little."
Was Mourinho in the wrong?
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