JOSE MOURINHO claims he was accused of “bullying” after substituting a player at half-time during his stint as Manchester United boss.
The Portuguese managed the Red Devils between 2016 and 2018 before being sacked following a disastrous start to the season.
Without naming the player in question, Mourinho looked back on a specific substitution he made as United boss that caused outcry.
Appearing on The Obi One Podcast, he said: “When I was at Man United, I changed a player at half time.
“I made a change and was accused of bullying.”
Mourinho, 60, went on to reference another change he made while managing Chelsea in 2015.
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During a match against Southampton he brought Nemanja Matic on at half-time… only to sub him off just 28 minutes later, with the Blues going on to lose 3-1.
Referencing the incident, he said: “With Matic at Stamford Bridge, he was on the bench. I put him on minute 45, I take him off around minute 70.
“That’s education, that’s coaching. That’s doing anything to win. I had to (make the) change.
“I laugh about these times but it’s different times (now). Even to be a dad, you have to be a different dad to how your dad was to you.
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“You have to change according to the world.”
Mourinho doesn’t appear to have changed much, however, as he made a similar decision during Roma’s clash with Bologna last night.
He brought on midfielder Renato Sanches at half-time with his side trailing 1-0.
The former Premier League boss then opted to hook him off just 18 minutes later, much to Sanches’ surprise.
Mourinho didn’t even look at the Paris Saint-Germain loanee as he came off, let alone provide an explanation.
After his side’s dismal 2-0 defeat he said: “I’m sorry… The last time I did this to a player before Renato was Matic, and I’m terribly sorry about this.
“But today I couldn’t leave the team with a player who had become frustrated. I had to make this decision.”
Following sackings at Chelsea, Man Utd and Tottenham, Mourinho returned to Serie A with Roma in 2021.
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He has since failed to qualify for the Champions League in either of his full seasons in charge.
Last night’s defeat saw them fall to seventh in the table, with Bologna leapfrogging them into the top four.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
