Mourinho says Man Utd still have players & staff he warned weren't good enough

Jose Mourinho has revealed several players and staff he told Manchester United couldn't succeed there remain at the club even now.

The Portuguese was in charge at Old Trafford between the summer of 2016 and December 2018.

He led United to success in the EFL Cup and the UEFA Europa League during his first season, before a second-place Premier League finish behind Manchester City in his second campaign.

But his tenure unravelled in his third season following poor results and a rift with high-profile players including Paul Pogba.

Mourinho took aim at United's stagnation on and off the pitch by expressing surprise at how little has changed now Erik ten Hag is manager.

'There are still people in that club, and when I say people I mean some players but also some other people that are not players, that are still there when I told [United] after two months: With these people, you are never going to do it [be successful]. And they are still there,' he told John Obi Mikel's Obi One podcast.

In the playing squad, only Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay remain from Mourinho's first season referenced.

The club's unpopular American owners, the Glazer family, remain in situ although petrochemicals billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is poised to take control of football operations after his £1.25billion buy-out of 25 per cent of the club.

United failed to win a single piece of silverware in the six years between 2017 under Mourinho and the Carabao Cup triumph of Ten Hag's side earlier this year.

They did achieve a second-placed finish under Solskjaer in 2020-21, the same season they lost to Villarreal in the Europa League final.

Mourinho also took them to the FA Cup final in 2018 but they lost 1-0 to his old club Chelsea.

He did heap praise on outgoing United chief executive Richard Arnold, however, describing him as an 'amazing person'.

United announced Arnold's departure in November as part of an expected major reshuffle behind the scenes as Ratcliffe comes in.

Patrick Stewart has taken on the role on an interim basis with one of Ratcliffe's key aides, the INEOS Sport chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc, viewed as a potential replacement.

'They still have a CEO who is an amazing person, who I would love to have had during my time there, that's Richard Arnold, who is probably now leaving,' Mourinho said.

'I had him as a Commercial Director, not a CEO, and I would love to have had him on my side in my time there, but the club wasn't easy. I don't have regrets because I gave everything.

'The Man United fans know I gave everything, they know how much I love the club. I went there once with Sky, I was in the box giving my comments and the whole stadium turned to me applauding and singing for me.

'If that happens when I go to Inter, Real Madrid, Porto or Chelsea you say it's because of everything we won.

'But when you go to Man United, a club with that history, and they do that for a coach who only won a Europa League, League Cup, Charity Shield and finished second, you arrive at the conclusion that they know I gave everything I could.'