Top 10 players who failed under Jose Mourinho 

Juan Mata (left) is one of many top players who failed under Jose Mourinho.
Juan Mata (left) is one of many top players who failed under Jose Mourinho.

#4 Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was signed by Jose Mourinho for Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2016. The Armenian midfielder arrived at Old Trafford after three successful campaigns in Dortmund.

Manchester United fans expected big things from Mkhitaryan and were pleased to see the impact he had during his debut season. The playmaker, though, soon fell out of favour under Jose Mourinho and was used mainly as an impact substitute.

The Armenian midfielder was eventually used as a makeweight in a swap deal to sign Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in January 2018.


#3 Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba

The strained relationship between Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho was a well documented affair when the two worked together at Manchester United. Mourinho has always been a manager who has preferred hard-working, down-to-earth professionals who are willing to give their all for the team, week in week out.

However, Pogba has always been known for being a flamboyant personality both on and off the pitch. His social media posts and poor form off the pitch resulted in heavy criticism from Jose Mourinho.

Pogba and Mourinho were filmed having a confrontation during a training session, despite the Portuguese's assertion that there was 'no problem' between the two.

The Frenchman was often left on the bench by Jose Mourinho in the next few weeks. That led many to believe that the two had a fractured relationship as tensions increased between Pogba and Mourinho.

A source told The Sun: “Jose called Pogba a virus in front of all the players. He told him, "You are like a person with the flu or a virus in a closed room; you pass that virus to the others. He also told him: ‘You don’t play; you don’t respect players and supporters, and you kill the mentality of good, honest people around you.’”

#2 Luke Shaw

Luke Shaw
Luke Shaw

Jose Mourinho has at times resorted to publicly criticising his players for getting a positive reaction from them in training or in matches. Luke Shaw was one such player who bore the brunt of constant criticism from the Portuguese manager during at Manchester United.

Mourinho accused Shaw of not working hard enough, being overweight and lacking the defensive discipline required to be a top-quality left-back for Manchester United.

"It was a very hard time a couple of years back when I wasn't playing, when I wasn't even involved," Shaw told BBC Sport.
'I always believed in myself. There were times where maybe people were thinking 'maybe he could leave', but I always believed that one day I would be able to fight my way back into the team and show people what my qualities are. I feel like I am starting to do that now, but there's still more to come. I'm still quite young and have time to improve," said Luke Shaw.

Mourinho would regularly bring Shaw off games, claiming the former Southampton man did not play with 'his brain'.

#1 Dele Alli

Dele Alli
Dele Alli

Dele Alli was one of the biggest prospects in the Premier League prior to Jose Mourinho's arrival at Tottenham Hotspur. Alli won the PFA Young Player of the Year award during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns.

The midfielder was expected to be a key player for Tottenham under Jose Mourinho but was never able to see eye to eye with the Portuguese manager. Alli was often criticised by Mourinho for being lazy in training and not working hard enough for the team during matches.

Alli fell down the pecking order and eventually became a bit-part player under Mourinho and was mainly used in the Cup competitions. He was even linked with a loan move to Real Madrid and PSG to revive his career.

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