Henrikh Mkhitaryan has revealed how former manager Jose Mourinho tried to force him to leave Manchester United during a difficult period at the club.
Mourinho was in charge at Manchester United when Mkhitaryan joined from Borussia Dortmund in 2016 for a fee of around £27 million. The Armenian scored 13 times in 63 appearances for the club but was unable to reproduce the prolific form he had shown in Germany.
The 36-year-old, now at Inter Milan, has opened up about the harsh treatment he received from Mourinho, revealing how the Portuguese coach ‘begged’ him to leave and refused to speak to him during training. After 18 months, Mkhitaryan moved to Arsenal in a swap deal that saw Alexis Sánchez move to Old Trafford.
In his new book, Mkhitaryan wrote: “I told him that you have been criticizing me for a year and a half now, ever since I joined Manchester United. Mourinho told me I was ‘s***’ and I just lost my patience.” ‘You’re the ***. A huge one.’”
“Jose replied, ‘Go away, I never want to see you again.’
“During the training sessions the coach didn’t say anything to me, he maintained a religious level of silence, but sent me a message every evening via WhatsApp: ‘Miki, please leave.’
“The situation had become grotesque. I replied every time with the same copy and paste answer. I will leave when I find the right team, otherwise I will wait for the summer. In mid-January the text changed slightly. ‘Miki, please leave, that way I can get Alexis Sanchez.’
“Mino Raiola worked on this exchange with Arsenal. So my reaction also changed. ‘I’m not leaving just to please you, and please stop writing to me. If you want, talk to Mino.'”
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