In a shocking revelation, former Manchester United manager José Mourinho reportedly sent daily texts to Henrikh Mkhitaryan, labelling him as “s***” and urging him to depart Old Trafford. The Armenian winger, who joined United in 2016 from Borussia Dortmund for a reported fee of £27 million, endured a tumultuous relationship with the Portuguese manager.
During his tenure at United, Mkhitaryan found the back of the net 13 times across 63 appearances. His stay coincided with Mourinho’s, who departed in December 2018. Despite being one of Mourinho’s initial signings, Mkhitaryan moved to Arsenal in a swap deal for Alexis Sanchez in January 2018.
In his latest book, Mkhitaryan elaborates on the distressing fallout with Mourinho, describing it as “grotesque.” “He’d been criticising me for a year-and-a-half since my arrival at Manchester United,” Mkhitaryan disclosed. “Mourinho called me ‘s***’, to which I retorted that he was the ‘s***’. An enormous one.”
Recounting the scenario, Mkhitaryan added, “Mourinho would remain silent during training sessions but would text every evening on WhatsApp: ‘Miki, leave, please.’ The ordeal became absurd. I’d reply saying I’d leave if the right team came along, otherwise, I’d wait for the summer.”
The Armenian international also revealed that Mourinho’s texts shifted tone by mid-January, as the manager sought to bring Alexis Sanchez into the fold. “Miki, please leave, that way I can get Alexis Sanchez,” read one of the later texts. Mkhitaryan continued, “I would respond manually with the message: ‘I am not leaving just to do you a favour, and please stop writing to me. If you want, talk to Mino Raiola.'”
Reflecting with humour, Mkhitaryan concluded, “And everyone lived happily ever after.”
Following a less than stellar spell at Arsenal, Mkhitaryan found his way to Roma, eventually crossing paths with Mourinho again in Italy. Contrary to past events, both Mourinho and Mkhitaryan expressed that the relationship had matured. “We were very honest and mature about the situation,” Mourinho commented in 2022, dispelling previous conflicts’ permanence.
Later that year, Mourinho expressed frustration when Mkhitaryan transferred to Inter Milan on a free transfer, thereby intensifying the narrative of their complex and storied relationship.
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