Jose Mourinho believes Manchester United’s end-of-season collapse has demonstrated the problems he faced during his time as manager have not been addressed by letting him go.
The former Inter and Chelsea boss faced widespread criticism for the brand of football his United team played, despite the fact he won the EFL Cup, the Europa League and led them to a second-place finish in the Premier League.
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Mourinho was sacked by United in December following a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool with United sixth in the table and 19 points off the top.
Under Mourinho’s replacement Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Red Devils went on a 12-game unbeaten run in the league, but their form nosedived towards the end of the season as they failed to win any of their last five matches and finished in sixth, 32 points behind champions Manchester City.
Mourinho reminded the club’s supporters of his assessment that guiding the club to second place in the league in 2017-18 was one of his “biggest achievements” as a manager, and said recent events have added weight to his comments.
“About United I want to say only two things,” the 56-year-old told L’Equipe. “One is that time has spoken. Two is that the problems are still there.
“I do not always do my analysis publicly on Manchester United. I do not want to talk about it and I have the feeling that I do not need to speak, that time gives explanations.
“I said nine or 10 months ago that after winning eight championships, finishing second with United may have been my greatest achievement.
“Now people understand.”
Mourinho remains tight-lipped on the question of where he might continue his career, having taken six months out of the game while occasionally working as a pundit.
Asked whether he could take over at French champions Paris Saint-Germain, where Thomas Tuchel clinched the Ligue 1 title in his first season but suffered Champions League humiliation at the hands of United, Mourinho said: “Impossible. You can’t coach a club that’s got a coach!”
Lyon coach Bruno Genesio has confirmed he will leave the club at the end of the season, and Mourinho was asked whether he could be his replacement at Groupama Stadium.
“No comment,” said Mourinho. “I don’t respond to this type of question.”