Jose Mourinho’s erratic behaviour has ‘exhausted’ members of his Manchester United squad, with the players becoming increasingly concerned over their manager, reports claim.
The Manchester United boss took a swipe at the club’s transfer policy, while he has directly singled out Antonio Valencia and Anthony Martial for criticism during the pre-season tour of the USA. Now in Miami and preparing for their penultimate friendly against Real Madrid, United’s players are said to be treading carefully around the former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager. ‘Jose’s mood is dragging the whole tour down,’ a source told the Daily Mail.
‘He’s clearly not happy with Ed Woodward and everyone else is suffering because of it.’ Another source claimed that his behaviour was ‘exhausting’ some of the players in the squad. Members of the squad fear becoming the latest one to be singled out by the head coach, and feel unsettled ahead of the new season. Some are also anxious that the season will be undermined before its even begun, such is the concern over Mourinho’s antics, according to the Telegraph.
While Mourinho has the full backing of executive vice-chairman Woodward, there are worries among some officials that the situation will continue to deteriorate and that Mourinho is damaging morale for no reason. He is expected to be handed more funds to add to the squad before the season begins, despite an acceptance that there needs to be a trimming of fringe players at the club. The absence of 17 first-team players has not helped matters and Mourinho is set to field another heavily weakened team in the fixture against Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Manchester United defender Nemanja Matic will miss the start of the season with an injury, Jose Mourinho has revealed.
The midfielder has not featured in any of United’s Pre-season contests, and having returned from the World Cup with an injury, he underwent surgery that will see the Serbian sit out for a little while.
“Matic came from the World Cup with an injury and the time he had to rest on holiday was not enough to resolve the problem. He went to Philadelphia for a top specialist and he didn’t leave the clinic. He immediately had surgery,” manager Jose Mourinho revealed.
Matic’s absence will be a big blow to United and Jose Mourinho, who has lamented about the club’s slow transfer activity.
On 15 January 2014, Matić rejoined Chelsea for a fee of £21 million (€25M),on a five-and-a-half-year contract. He made his second debut for the club four days later, replacing Willian in a 3–1 win against Manchester United.
On 3 February, Matić made his first Premier League start in Chelsea’s fixture away at championship rivals Manchester City. He was named man of the match by Sky Sports as Chelsea ended City’s unbeaten run at the City of Manchester Stadium with a 1–0 win.
Matić scored his first Premier League goal on 30 August 2014, in a 6–3 win at Everton.A month later, Matić scored the only goal as Chelsea won away at Sporting CP in the group stage of the Champions League; on 5 November in the same competition, his goal earned Chelsea a 1–1 draw at Maribor.
Matić was given a straight red card in Chelsea’s 1–1 home draw against Burnley on 21 February 2015, for pushing over Ashley Barnes following a high tackle by him, which resulted in the bending of Matić’s shin. On appeal, his suspension was shortened to two matches, including the League Cup Final.
On 26 April 2015, Matić was named as one of four midfielders in the PFA Team of the Year, alongside teammate Eden Hazard. Four more Chelsea players were included in the selection.
On 12 September 2015, Matić scored his first goal of the 2015–16 Premier League season against Everton, but it was not enough to save Chelsea from a 3–1 loss.Matić was sent off for two yellow cards in the first half of Chelsea’s 2–1 loss at West Ham United on 24 October 2015.
For the majority of the 2016–17 Premier League season, Matić played as a central midfielder in a 3–4–3 formation. He scored the 4th goal in Chelsea’s 4–2 FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham Hotspur on 22 April 2017. On 8 May 2017, he scored his first ever goal at Stamford Bridge, in a 3–0 victory over Middlesbrough.
On 30 July 2017, a photo was leaked of Matić wearing a Manchester United training kit printed with the number 31 vacated by Bastian Schweinsteiger the previous March, fuelling rumours that Matić was on the verge of a reunion with former Chelsea manager José Mourinho. Manchester United confirmed the deal the next day, with Matić signing a three-year contract with an option for an extra year.
Two days after signing, he made his first appearance in a friendly against Sampdoria, finishing in a 2–1 win over the Italian side. On 13 August 2017, Matić made his league debut in a 4–0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford, in which he was named Man of the Match. On 5 March 2018, Matić scored his first goal for the club with a half-volley in a 3–2 comeback win over Crystal Palace after being 2–0 down.