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Jose Mourinho explains why he was not more successful at Man United

by Red Billy

José Mourinho has opened up about the reason he was not more successful at Manchester United.

Mourinho became manager of the Red Devils in 2016 and won the League Cup and Europa League in his first season. United finished second in the Premier League and reached the Champions League Round of 16 in his second term but the following campaign did not start well and he was sacked in December 2018.

And the 57-year-old believes that due to the nature of the rebuild needed at United, he simply was not given enough time.
‘In a certain period of my career, with a profile of club I was getting in hand, we didn’t need as much time to reach success,’ Mourinho told The Independent.
‘We did it at Porto, Inter, Real, Chelsea, both times, we did it without that need of that longevity …
‘…The first club where I felt I need time and time was not given was at Manchester United, because I felt that I left at the middle of the process, but I learn very early to respect decisions, which I did at United.
‘We did what we did, we did what was possible to do, and we move on.
‘I am happy, they are happy, and we have a great relation, which is something I am very proud always to say, when I leave clubs, I keep very good relationship with everybody, and United is one more example of that.’
At the time Mourinho was sacked, United lay sixth in the table with 26 points from 17 games. They had won seven, drawn five and lost five.

It was not a terrible position, but the well-documented clash with star man Paul Pogba, outspoken comments about the club’s refusal to back him in the transfer market and fans’ unrest about the defensive style of play being adopted were all factors that contributed to his dismissal.

In retrospect, Mourinho may have been vindicated in all of these areas and we will never know what the outcome would have been if the club had backed him at the time.

Edinson Cavani has made quite an impact since his deadline day arrival at Old Trafford, but how much do you know about our other South American players, past and present? Take our quiz below to find out!

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