Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Manchester United, Jesse Lingard, Jose Mourinho
Patrick Rowe
Former Manchester United ace Jesse Lingard has revealed the 'strange' FaceTime calls he'd receive from Jose Mourinho while he was in charge at Old Trafford.
The 61-year-old Portuguese coach was in charge of United from 2016 to 2018, where he went on to win the Europa League and Carabao Cup before parting ways due to tension with the owners at the time.
Since then, Mourinho has gone on to manage Tottenham Hotspur and Serie A side AS Roma. He lasted less than two years in North London and was recently relieved of his duties in Italy, after winning the Europa Conference League in 2022.
After leaving Roma, Mourinho has now been linked with a shock return to United - as pressure continues to grow on current boss Erik ten Hag.
According to the Daily Mail, Mourinho has 'unfinished business' at the club and has now made it his mission to return.
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Reflecting on his previous time at the club, his former player Lingard opened up on some of the stranger antics from his boss.
“José Mourinho was the Manchester United manager back then and … well, he didn’t really like his players being injured," he said in an article for The Players’ Tribune. "He didn’t want to know about it. And I’m like, ‘It’s not my fault, is it, Boss?!
“Me and José had a good relationship generally, though, I have to say. He was good to me. Before all the injury stuff, he trusted me, put me in for important games. We won trophies and he made me a winner. He could just bring out that side in you.
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“He also liked to have a personal connection with his players. Sometimes I’d look at my phone and I’d be getting a random FaceTime from him. Just out of nowhere — just to check in.
“I used to find it so strange at first. He’d call and be like, ‘Hey Jesse, what are you doing?' And I’d be like, ‘Erm, just chilling, watching TV … (awkward silence) … what are you doing?’
“I found it funny. And, to be fair, it showed how much he cared about us. But in terms of injuries, yeah, it was tough, because he didn’t want to hear it.”