Roma manager Jose Mourinho has criticised former club Manchester United for setting their expectations too high.
The Portuguese coach was in charge at Old Trafford between 2016 and 2018, winning the League Cup and Europa League during his time in Manchester.
And Mourinho, who will lead Roma into the Europa Conference League final against Feyenoord on Wednesday, couldn’t help but aim a thinly-veiled dig at United when asked whether both he and Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti had been written off too soon.
He said: “I believe that the problem with Carlo Ancelotti was that when you coach Everton you are not about to win the Champions League.
“And with me, you know, people they saw me taking up jobs where they thought that I could win trophies but they were not jobs where we were expected to lift trophies.
“But when you have such a winning career on a cyclical basis so to speak, you can expect that, people can say that. Personally I’m not worried about this [being replaced by younger coaches]. I do not think and focus on the generations, I focus on quality.
“It’s a matter of quality, motivation, passion. Without passion you are finished. Without pressure in the build-up to big games you are finished. I know very well myself, I know very well Carlito as well, but there are more examples that we could make.
“But we are the ones who will call it when we want to stop, and I’m afraid people will have to wait a long time before I say that it’s over!”
Ancelotti and Mourinho could both end the season with European trophies, with the Italian heading into the Champions League final against Liverpool on Saturday 28 May.
Meanwhile, United have not won a trophy since Mourinho left the club in 2018. The Old Trafford club have registered their worst ever Premier League points tally this season.
