5 reasons to believe Jose Mourinho is a changed man at Manchester United

3. The Wayne Rooney conundrum

Mourinho and Rooney in 2017

Wayne Rooney- Manchester United and England's captain and record goal scorer, of whom Jose Mourinho had been an avid admirer had even tried to prise him away from United in the past. Wayne Rooney is, without question, one of the greatest players English football has ever seen and has been a consistent presence in the league for over 15 years.

But over a couple of years, Rooney's decline in form was evident. Perhaps his stunning versatility was his enemy, or it may be expected of someone who started his top-flight career at 16 years of age. And with the signing of Ibrahimovic and emergence of Rashford, it was evident that Rooney's playing time was going to be limited up front.

Meanwhile, Jose preferred a midfield three of Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera and record signing Paul Pogba, with Fellaini called upon towards the business end of games. Although all these factors contributed to his limited playing time, Rooney was given his chances by Mourinho in cup games and the Europa league and played around 1500 minutes of football in the league, scoring 5 goals.

Whenever questioned about Rooney's future or the player himself, Mourinho always spoke highly of him and emphasized on the character and experience he adds to an otherwise young team. He also highlighted that he wanted Rooney to stay but won't block a move if Rooney wanted to leave the club.

After Rooney rejoined Everton, Mourinho said, “I miss him a lot, I miss the guy a lot, I think he’s a fantastic guy, “I’m not the kind of guy that gets normally emotional in my job and I did it with him when he left, but I am sure that he’s going to be very good for Everton, and Everton is going to be very good for him."

"Wayne was a very positive influence. We cannot say we are going to improve the group because Wayne left. No way, or the other way around. He was such an important guy and a good guy for us. I just think it is a new period without that face, without that leader, without that good influence on us."

Now, as rightly said by the man himself, there never was a time when Mourinho mixed his personal emotions with his job. For him, what matters most is winning and was someone who would go to any length for the overall benefit of his team.

This statement coming \from a man who benched Balon d'Or winners like Andriy Shevchenko and Ricardo Kaka caught everyone by surprise and has proven, to an extent, that he is traversing the road he seldom does, at United.