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AS Roma boss Jose Mourinho has taken a dig at Manchester United, claiming that managers are “not expected to lift trophies” at Old Trafford.
The former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager was in charge at Man Utd for two-and-a-half years up until the end of 2018.
The 59-year-old helped them win the Europa League and EFL Cup during this time.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick have had spells at United since Mourinho’s departure. They have not lifted a trophy since his exit.
The Portuguese manager took over at Roma last summer following his exit from Tottenham Hotspur.
Mourinho has guided Roma to the final of the Europa Conference League. They face Feyenoord in the final later this month.
He has been if critics have been too quick to write off him and Carlo Ancelotti. During his answer, Mourinho talked about his recent jobs:
“I believe that the problem with Carlo Ancelotti was that when you coach Everton you are not about to win the Champions League,” Mourinho said (quotes via The Daily Mail).
“And with me, you know, people they saw me taking up jobs where they thought that I could win trophies but they were not jobs where we were expected to lift trophies.
“But when you have such a winning career on a cyclical basis so to speak, you can expect that, people can say that. Personally I’m not worried about this [being replaced by younger coaches]. I do not think and focus on the generations, I focus on quality.
“It’s a matter of quality, motivation, passion. Without passion you are finished. Without pressure in the build-up to big games you are finished. I know very well myself, and I know very well Carlo [Ancelotti] as well, but there are more examples that we could make.
“But we are the ones who will call it when we want to stop, and I’m afraid people will have to wait a long time before I say that it’s over.”
Elsewhere, it is being reported that Tottenham are one of three clubs interested in signing ex-Man Utd star Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The 33-year-old’s future is in doubt though as his contract is set to expire this summer.
Alfredo Pedulla (via Sport Witness) are reporting that Mourinho is keen to keep Mkhitaryan at Roma, but he must ‘beware of surprises’.
It is stated that Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan and Napoli all ‘like’ the midfielder, who has been offered a new two-year deal by Roma.