Jose Mourinho has been keen to remind people that he and Henrikh Mkhitaryan helped win the last three honours at Manchester United as they continue to rebuild their relationship in Rome.
The Special One signed the playmaker in his first summer following the Armenian's sensational year with Borussia Dortmund. They only spent 18 months together at Old Trafford, with Mourinho not shy in being critical of Mkhitaryan, who was in and out of form before eventually leaving for Arsenal.
He was part of the swap deal that saw Alexis Sanchez move to Manchester. Mourinho and Mkhitaryan would reunite in the Italian capital this year following the Portuguese's appointment at the Stadio Olympico. Immediately doubters expected the pair to clash, but instead it has gone the other way.
Mourinho told Sky Sports : "We won together three titles with Man Utd. Unfortunately it is the last three titles of Man Utd. I say unfortunately because I like the club very very much and I wish them the best. But we won three titles so everything went well, in the second season we were together things were different.
"The thing that makes me happy, in the beginning people go for a negative, and they were trying to say 'Mkhitaryan with Jose has no chance, Jose is the kind of the guy that when things go wrong they never go well again'. It has been proven the opposite, we were very mature, very honest with each other.
"We all know that I try always to be honest with the players and I saw my project in Roma needing a player like Miki, I also understand his importance in the group. He's having an amazing year, helping us cope with a small squad. He is playing everywhere - a winger, a 10, a central midfielder. I'm so happy with him and I'm happy with people understanding with me everything is not black and white."
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Mkhitaryan and Mourinho are on course for another piece of silverware this term with Roma into the Europa Conference League final. Domestically they look set to miss out on the top four and Champions League football, but the former United man has more than played his role with over 40 appearances.
He has previously dismissed any rift with the Special One, stating: "Mourinho is very ambitious, he always wants to win. He doesn’t care if we play good or bad football, it’s all about the three points. Everyone knows he has won almost everything there is to win.
"I don’t want to talk about the past, we discussed it together and started from scratch on a different level. I know what he asks of his players and I am ready to give my all."
