Jose Mourinho believes he's been 'proven right' after highlighting Manchester United's problems behind the scenes three years ago.
The Portuguese coach told reporters he'd done a good job at Old Trafford after being dismissed by the club in December 2018. He won two major trophies at United - the Europa League and EFL Cup - but failed to clinch the Premier League title.
Mourinho was criticised on his exit but insists he's since been vindicated due to United's poor form. The Red Devils haven't lifted silverware since his sacking and failed to qualify for the Champions League this season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.
"Unfortunately, yes," Mourinho told BT Sport when asked if he's been vindicated by highlighting United's problems. "Of course, my English connection is Chelsea - that’s the way I’m seeing it, as a Chelsea man, two periods at Chelsea, six years.
"But at Man Utd the fans are special and there are lots of good people inside the club, so it’s not like I’m happy to be right. I’m not happy to be right. I would like to be wrong, but I knew that I was right. The first thing you have to change, for me, when things are not going right is mentality and organisation and it was not coming.
"And I knew that for me to leave was not going to resolve the situation. I knew that, unfortunately. I wish them the best, honestly, and hopefully they make it."
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Mourinho said in 2019: "I consider one of the best jobs of my career was to finish second with Man Utd in the Premier League [in 2017-18], you will say, 'This guy is crazy'. He won 25 titles and he is saying that a second position was one of his best achievements? I keep saying this because people don’t know what is going on behind the scenes."
United legend Rio Ferdinand has since apologised to Mourinho for doubting his wisdom. "I think Jose Mourinho ’s quote has aged so, so well," he told his Vibe with Five YouTube channel in May. "And me for one, I would apologise maybe to some extent in terms of the way you kind of looked at him and judged him.
“I still think there were flaws in some of the ways he handled people and handled some of the situations that he was involved in. But in terms of looking behind the scenes, that [quote] he said in 2019 on finishing second in the Premier League, that has aged so well.
"We can see that there’s been stuff going on that’s wrong behind the scenes, but at that time we didn’t know the extent of it. Obviously Jose Mourinho did. He wanted to get rid of numerous players and he wanted to bring in certain players, and obviously big wages and contracts were handed out to certain players and he’s thinking, ‘Woah, woah, woah, what’s going on?!’
"He could see the flaws in certain individuals, he could see the flaws in the way the club was set up, he wanted to change things and he wasn’t probably afforded that.
"Listen, I’d love to have half-an-hour talking to Jose just about his time there, just to work out where he was at with a bit more detail than we’ve actually ever seen, and then gauge it to where we are now – that would be very insightful."
