Jose Mourinho has pointed towards the kind of the Manchester United he inherited compared to that side gifted to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and insisted that he will leave a better set of players for next manager at Old Trafford.
The Manchester United boss has attracted scathing criticism for Manchester United’s exit from the Champions League in the Round of 16 at the hands of Sevilla.
Mourinho’s has been criticised for the kind of football his side played and for the lack of progress Manchester United showed in Europe this season, but the Portuguese pointed towards his side’s record in the Champions League since the last time they played a final in 2011.
The Manchester United boss also highlighted their record in the league since winning the Premier League in 2013 and the quality of the players they signed before he arrived at Old Trafford.
He stressed the stark contrast to what Guardiola inherited when he took charge of Manchester City in the summer of 2016.
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Mourinho said in a press conference: “I say to the fans that the fans are the fans and have the right to their opinions and reactions but there is something that I used to call football heritage. I don’t know if, I try to translate from my Portuguese, which is almost perfect, to my English, which is far from perfect, football heritage.
“And what a manager inherits is something like the last time Manchester United won the Champions League which didn’t happen a lot of times, was in 2008. Since 2011, 2012, out in the group phase, the group was almost the same group we had this season, Benfica, Basel and Galati from Romania.
“Out in the group phase in 2013 out at Old Trafford in the last 16, I was on the other bench. In 2014, out in the quarter-final. In 2015, no European football. In 2016, comes back to European football, out in the group phase, goes to Europa League and on the second knockout out of the Europa League. In 2017, play Europa League, win Europa League with me and goes back to Champions League.
“In 2018, win the group phase with 15 points out of a possible 18 and loses at home in the last 16.
"So in seven years with four different managers, once not qualify for Europe, twice out in the group phase and the best was the quarter-final, this is football heritage and if you want to go to the Premier League, the last victory was 12-13 and in the four consecutive seasons United finish fourth fifth, sixth and seventh.
“So in the last four years the best was fourth. This is football heritage. Means that when you start the process you are here, you are there or you are there, is heritage.
“And if the fans that I will always respect, always respect, if the fans and many of them are the ones you speak with, many of them are the ones I speak with and I am very lucky but the ones who speak with you are very disappointed and the ones I speak with know what is football heritage, what is a process and when I arrive.
“When I arrived in Real Madrid, do you know how many players played in quarter- final of the Champions League? Xabi Alonso with Liverpool, Iker Casillas with Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo with Manchester United. All the others not even a quarter-final, that’s football heritage.
“Those stats are real. I give you a couple more, in the last seven years the worst position of Manchester City in the Premier League was fourth, in the last seven years Manchester City was champions twice and if you want to say three times, they were second twice.
“That’s heritage. Do you know what is also heritage? Is that [Nicolas] Otamendi, Kevin De Bruyne, Fernandinho, [David] Silva, [Raheem] Sterling, [Sergio] Aguero, they are investments from the past, not from the last two years, do you know how many of United players that left the club last season?
“See where they play, how they play, if they play. That’s football heritage and one day when I leave the next Manchester United manager will find here [Romelu] Lukaku, [Nemanja] Matic, of course [David] De Gea from many years ago, they will find players with a different mentality, quality, background, with a different status, know-how.
“And for some reason you go to the Champions League quarter-final like today and there are four clubs that are always there, always there. Barcelona is always there in the past seven, eight years, Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich and then of course appear now and again, another club like my Inter, like some other clubs like Monaco last season, but the ones that are always there is for some reason.”
The Manchester United manager insisted that the club hierarchy are on the same page as him and are aware of the kind of time and money they need to invest to take the Red Devils to the next level in England and in Europe.
And Mourinho feels he will always have his set of detractors, who will always enjoy his setbacks, but stressed that he won’t change or run away from his job just because he is being criticised.
“The good thing for me and the amazing feeling for me is that I am exactly on the same page as the owners, as Mr. Woodward, Mr. Arnold, we are on exactly the same page, we agree on everything, on the investments, that we have what we have, the investments that we are going to do will be season after season, we are exactly on the same page, so life is good.
"I have an amazing job to do. Yesterday I met a new person we have working in the club in a different area that came from another club and I ask why did you decide to come. The person told me I did a fantastic job in another club and at this club I have a huge job and I come for the challenge.
“Well done, my decision was based on the same thing, I could be in another country with the league in the pocket, I am here and I am going to be here and no way am I going to change my mentality.
"I don’t know if you know the expression but there is a code that I like – every wall is a door. I am not going to run away or disappear or to cry because I heard a few boos, I’m not going to disappear from the tunnel, running immediately, the next match I will be the first to go out. I am not afraid of my responsibilities.
“When I was 20 I was nobody in football, I was somebody’s son, with a lot of pride, and now with 55 I am what I am I did what I did because of work and because of talent and my mentality.
"So they can be together, I understand that for many, many, many years was really really hard for the people who doesn’t like me, here he is again, here he wins again.
“For 10 months I win nothing, the last title that I won was 10 months ago, I beat Liverpool, Chelsea, I lose against Sevilla and now is their moment to be happy. I learn that in my religious formation, be happy with others happiness, so be it, I am a really happy guy.”
