The self-proclaimed Special One finished second for United in the 2017-18 Premier League season, having won the Carabao Cup and Europa League in the previous campaign, but was sacked a few months later with the team in sixth place.
Since then, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick and Ralf Rangnick have all had spells on the bench, with the latter overseeing United’s lowest point tally (58) in the Premier League era.
Speaking to beIN Sports in 2019, Mourinho said his second-place finish was “one of the best jobs of my career” due to “behind the scenes” issues that people were unaware of, and that time would show what he meant.
Three years on, United have appointed yet another new manager, with Erik ten Hag the latest man charged with turning the club around, while their last disappointing campaign prompted Rio Ferdinand to offer an apology to Mourinho.
The Portuguese manager, who may end Roma’s 14-year wait for a trophy in Wednesday’s Europa Conference League final, insists he doesn’t like United’s continued struggles but feels he has been fully vindicated. .
When asked if time has proved him right about United’s problems, Mourinho told BT Sport: ‘Unfortunately yes.
“Of course my English connection is Chelsea, that’s how I see it, as a Chelsea man, two spells at Chelsea, six years.
“But at Manchester United, the fans are special and there are a lot of good people within the club, so I’m not happy that I’m right.”
‘I’m not happy to be right. I would like to be wrong. But he knew he was right.
‘The first thing you have to change, for me, when things don’t go well is the mentality and the organization and it didn’t come.
‘And I knew that for me to leave was not going to solve the situation. She knew it, unfortunately. I wish them the best, sincerely, and I hope they succeed.’
Earlier this month, Mourinho claimed that United were a club where Trophies are no longer expected and he seemed to double down on that comment when he rattled off a list of the clubs he has managed where there is enormous pressure to lift trophies, although he did not include United.
He said: ‘When I go to Chelsea I’m going to win, when I go to Inter I’m going to win, when I go to Madrid I’m going to win. here [Roma] the goal was to come, build, have time – and the word time is something quite new to me, because they never gave me time. I had to come and win and if you don’t win you’re out’.
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