The three players Jose Mourinho claims he would never have sold at Man United

Jose Mourinho insists he would never have sold THREE Manchester United players let go by Louis van Gaal.

Mourinho replaced Van Gaal at Man United in the summer of 2016.

In an interview back in 2017, Mourinho said it was a 'sad' club that he inherited from his predecessor Van Gaal.

And he bemoaned three outgoings that the Dutchman sanctioned during his time at the club.

The Portuguese revealed there is 'no chance' he would have sold Angel Di Maria, Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez or Danny Welbeck had he been in charge at the time.

"I think I found a sad club. Manchester United sold players that I would never sell and bought players that I would never buy but probably when I leave a club people say that," he told the BBC.

"I would never have sold [Angel] Di Maria, Chicharito, Danny Welbeck - never, no chance," he added.

Di Maria lasted just one season at Old Trafford following his blockbuster £59.7 million transfer from Real Madrid.

He donned the club's legendary No.7 shirt but failed to live up to his expectations, scoring just four goals before moving to Paris Saint-Germain.

Hernandez enjoyed a loan spell at Real before leaving the Red Devils for Bayer Leverkusen. He scored 59 goals during his stint at the club.

As for Welbeck, who graduated from Man United's famed youth academy, he moved within the Premier League, signing for Arsenal.

Angel Di Maria poses with Louis van Gaal following his Manchester United transfer. Image: Getty

The departures of Di Maria, Hernandez and Welbeck under Van Gaal's regime weren't appreciated by Mourinho, who lasted two-and-a-half seasons at Man United before being dismissed.

The former Chelsea gaffer did not reveal the players that he would not have bought as he oversaw the transfers of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly.