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Topics: Erik Ten Hag, Football, Manchester United, Jose Mourinho, Fenerbahce, Europa League
Ryan Smart
Topics: Erik Ten Hag, Football, Manchester United, Jose Mourinho, Fenerbahce, Europa League
Erik ten Hag has already made his feelings known on Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho as Manchester United prepare to reunite with their former manager in the Europa League.
United will take on Fenerbahce in their fourth match of eight in the league phase of the 2024/25 Europa League.
They will travel to the Ulker Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu Stadium to reunite with Mourinho for the latest occasion - but the first time in European competition they have faced the Portuguese boss since he departed as United manager.
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Speaking in May, Ten Hag made his belief clear that Mourinho was the only manager since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson to receive concrete backing from the club's ownership in the transfer market.
Since Sir Jim Ratcliffe took a minority share in the club, United have invested more heavily this summer, with Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte and Matthijs de Ligt all arriving for over £45 million each.
Ten Hag said of Mourinho: "Apart from Mourinho, the manager didn't get the players they wanted, and that is what you need.
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"I am confident we will achieve our goals, but it is a tough competition. It is not a two-horse race anymore.
"There are seven, eight [teams in the Premier League] who all go for the title, who all have very good squads. So if you want to go to the title, you have to construct that squad."
A month later, Mourinho criticised Ten Hag over his treatment of Jadon Sancho, who was exiled from the squad in September following a public dispute with his manager.
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He said: "I think sometimes we have to learn from these experiences, to try to understand the nature of the player. Sometimes they have the talent, but they don't have the mindset you want from the player.
"For sure, the kid made mistakes, but for sure also the manager was not able to get the best out of him. Of course he failed [at United], because he wasn't playing."