Former Italy winger Francesco Moriero has conceded that he is not surprised by the decline in Jose Mourinho’s fortunes in recent years.
Mourinho has been attracting criticism since Manchester United exited the Champions League on Tuesday night on the back of a 2-1 defeat at home to Sevilla.
Manchester United have struggled to compete with Manchester City in the league this season despite being second and now their exit from Europe has heaped more pressure on the Portuguese.
Many are of the opinion that Mourinho’s powers are on the wane and while Moriero believes there is too much exaggeration while assessing the Manchester United manager, he believes a number of scenarios have played out which has not allowed the Portuguese to continue his streak of glory.
The former Italy winger feels the Manchester United manager has come up against two of the best managers of the modern era in Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte in England.
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And he is also of the opinion that the quality of the teams he has been managing has declined in recent years.
Moriero told Italian outlet Tutto Mercato: “We are talking about a coach who has won many trophies in his career and he will always leave something behind on the road every now and then.
“He is also has great opponents in Guardiola and Conte, two coaches who have changed football.”
He added: “The footballers also matter and in recent years Mourinho has managed lesser teams than in the past.
“So the decline is normal.”
