A former Manchester United star has astonishingly claimed that Jose Mourinho texted him every night telling him to leave the club after the pair butted heads in an heated and expletive-laden row at Old Trafford.
Mourinho, who last month was confirmed as the new manager of Benfica, took charge of Manchester United in 2016 after successful spells at Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
Despite winning the Europa League and finishing second in the Premier League, a feat he once described as one of his best achievements as a manager, the Portuguese boss failed in his mission to steer United back to the summit of English football.
Of course, since his departure, the Red Devils’ domestic form has continued to plummet, with the Manchester club currently placed 14th after losing three of their first seven games this season under manager Ruben Amorim.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was widely perceived as one of the best midfielders in the Bundesliga when he was brought to Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund by Mourinho in 2016, struggled at Old Trafford and ultimately left two years later as part of a swap deal with Arsenal for Alexis Sanchez.
In his new book, released in Italy, the now-Inter Milan star has opened up on a remarkable row he once had with the no-nonsense manager, who appeared to be highly critical of the Armenian’s form.
Mkhitaryan wrote of Mourinho: ‘I told him, you’ve been criticising me for a year-and-a-half now, ever since I arrived at Manchester United.
‘Mourinho told me I was “s***” and I just lost my temper. “You are the s***. An enormous one.”
‘Mou replied: “Get out of here, I never want to see you again.”
‘During the training sessions, the coach said nothing to me, he remained at a religious level of silence, but every evening he’d send me a message via WhatsApp. “Miki, leave, please.”
‘The situation had become grotesque. I’d reply every time with the same copy and paste response. I will leave if I find the right team, otherwise I’ll wait for the summer.
‘Towards the middle of January, the text changed slightly. “Miki, please leave, that way I can get Alexis Sanchez.”
‘Mino Raiola was working on this exchange with Arsenal. So my response mutated too. “I am not leaving just to do you a favour, and please stop writing to me. If you want, talk to Mino.”
Mkhitaryan, appearing to joke about how disappointing Sanchez was for Mourinho at United, added: ‘And everyone lived happily ever after.’
After sealing his move to the Red Devils, Sanchez scored a disastrous five goals in 45 appearances after becoming one of the club’s highest-paid stars of £450,000 per week.
The Chilean had established himself as one of the Premier League’s best players at Arsenal — but proved a huge disappointment at Old Trafford.
Mkhitaryan did not exactly set the world alight at the Emirates either.
The creative midfielder scored nine and assisted 13 during his 59 appearances at Arsenal, leaving the club shortly after Mikel Arteta’s arrival.
