Jose Mourinho opens up on being accused of bullying as Man Utd manager

Ex-Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has claimed he was accused of bullying by one of his former players after he substituted them at half-time during his Old Trafford tenure

Posted Tuesday, December 19, 2023 by Dailystar.co.uk

Former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho was accused of bullying by an ex-player, the now Roma manager has claimed.

Back in 2016, Mourinho was appointed Man United manager, succeeding Dutchman Louis van Gaal. During his tenure at Old Trafford Mourinho and co hoisted the Carabao Cup and the Europa League too.

However, despite winning two trophies in his first season at Old Trafford, Mourinho was sacked in December 2018 after a dismal run of form saw them win one Premier League game in six around the Christmas period.

Since his departure from Old Trafford, the 'Special One' has managed Tottenham Hotspur, and now Serie A side Roma, where he continues to serve as an animated presence on the touchline. Recently, Mourinho appeared on his former midfielder, John Obi Mikel's 'The Obi One Podcast' to chat about his career.

And during the hour long interview, Mourinho revealed that during his time at United, he was accused of bully by a player after he substituted them at half-time.

"When I was at Manchester United, I changed a player at half-time," said Mourinho. "I made a change and was accused of bullying."

The ex-United boss then compared that incident to the time he hauled off Nemanja Matic at Chelsea just 28 minutes after brining him on - which the Serbian admitted he "felt terrible at that moment" afterwards.

Mourinho added: "He [Matic] was on the bench. I put him on minute 45, I take him off around minute 70. That's education, that's coaching. That's doing anything to win. I had to [make the] change. I laugh about these times but it's different times [now].

"Even to be a dad, you have to be a different dad to how your dad was to you. You have to change according to the world."