Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has claimed that he has not given up hope of earning a title winning bonus from 2018 as a result of the ongoing legal case between rivals Manchester City and the Premier League.
The Red Devils came second to City in the 2017-18 season during Mourinho’s time at Old Trafford. City have since gone on to win four consecutive titles but have been accused of breaking the league’s financial rules between 2009 and 2018. The Cityzens deny the 115 charges with an outcome coming in 2025.
If the club is found guilty, they could see their silverware during that period stripped.
When asked about his old team ahead of his current side, Fenerbahce’s Europa League fixture against United in Istanbul, he cheekily referred to the rivals’ legal situation.
“As you know, we won the Europa League [in 2017] and we finished second in the Premier League [in 2018],” Mourinho said. “I think we still have a chance to win that league because maybe they punish Man City with points and maybe we win that league and then they have to pay me the bonus and give me the medal.”
It came during a 20-minute long exchange, typical of the kind ‘the special one’ as he once called himself, usually holds.
While praising the team for keeping their faith with current boss Erik Ten Hag during a difficult time, Mourinho referred to his own dismissal in December 2018.
“I wish the best to Man United since the moment I left,” he said. “I left with a good feeling to the club and with a good feeling to the fans. If things are not going amazingly well for them it’s not something that makes me happy. It doesn’t make sense for me to be thinking about what happened and what didn’t happen.
“What happened for sure, because it’s very objective, is they keep faith in the coach, they support the coach, the coach is staying season after season and that means stability, it means trust, and they are giving him conditions to keep developing his job. That was different in relation to me.”
Image: Ronnie Macdonald from Chelmsford
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