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Former Manchester United defender Paul Parker has accused Jose Mourinho of mismanaging an issue involving Anthony Martial during his stint as the Red Devils' manager.
Martial lifted the lid on his differences with Mourinho in a recent interview with France Football. The forward claimed that the Portuguese tactician disrespected him by forcing him to change his shirt number.
The France international was initially handed the number 9 kit when he joined Manchester United in 2015. However, Mourinho, who took charge of the club ahead of the 2016-17 season, gave the number to Zlatan Ibrahimovic when the veteran joined the club the following year.
Parker has now insisted that Mourinho is 'not a very good manager' because of the way he handled the issue. The former Manchester United defender also accused the 59-year-old of making things personal with Martial. He told Bonus Code Bets:
“I could not believe that the club allowed that to happen. Because of bringing in one player on a short term you’re affecting the player who’s on a long-term contract. As a manager Jose Mourinho should never have allowed that to happen.”
“Jose Mourinho is not a very good manager because he managed that situation totally wrong. It became very personal with Martial and that’s mostly why he gave his number away to someone else and numbers are a big part of footballer’s today.”
Parker, though, is confident that such an issue will not occur at Old Trafford again. He said:
“And I think that everyone saw that, everyone was shocked by what actually happened. So, I’d be very surprised that something like that was to ever happen again at Manchester United.”
Mourinho, who currently manages AS Roma, was in charge of the Red Devils for almost two-and-a-half years. Martial made 106 appearances across all competitions during the period, contributing to 45 goals in the process.
How did Mourinho fare as Manchester United boss?
The Premier League giants played 144 matches across all competitions during Mourinho's stint as their manager. They won 84, drew 31 and lost 29 of those matches.
Mourinho also led the Old Trafford outfit to three trophies, including the UEFA Europa League in 2016-17. The Red Devils finished second in the Premier League in the Portuguese tactician's second season in charge of them.
It is worth noting that Manchester United have not won a trophy since Mourinho's departure in 2018. While Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick (interim) failed, it remains to be seen if Erik ten Hag can bring glory days back to Old Trafford.
