In a recent chat with The Obi One Podcast, Roma’s manager, José Mourinho, opened up about his past experience leading Manchester United.
He started off by expressing his love for the club and acknowledging the efforts he put in during his tenure. “The Manchester United fans know that I gave it my all, they know how much I love the club,” he told The Obi One Podcast.
Mourinho spoke highly of Richard Arnold, a senior executive at the club, saying he was an extraordinary person, adding that he would have loved to have him by his side during his stint at Manchester United. However, Arnold served as commercial manager back then, not as a chief executive officer. Mourinho stated, “There is still a CEO who is an extraordinary person, I would have liked to have had him during my time there, his name is Richard Arnold, who will probably now leave. I had him as a commercial manager, not as a CEO, and I would have liked to have had him by my side during my stay.”
Despite sharing a brief retrospect of a situation where he substituted a player during half time, an action that led to accusations of bullying from the player’s agent, Mourinho harboured no regrets about his time at Manchester United. “When I was at United, I substituted a player at half time and his agent accused me of bullying.”
According to him, football management nowadays requires a different skill set. “Times are different. But it’s like being a dad: you have to be a different dad than your dad was to you. You have to change according to the world,” the Roma manager concluded.