Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has been accused of being the protagonist behind creating ‘hate’ between teammates.
Mourinho, 55, has endured severe criticism for his alleged poor man management and fallouts with Manchester United’s biggest stars since his arrival in 2016.
And while results have not been forthcoming this season, with the Red Devils trailing cross-town rivals Manchester City by a staggering 14 points after 13 games, former FC Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has shed insight to his role in dismantling the Golden generation of Spain.
After winning Euro 2008 the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2012, La Roja were firmly established as the best team in world football after decades of underachievement.
However, Iniesta believes Mourinho was the central role in their demise as they were knocked off their perch, with underwhelming showings in the major tournaments that followed.
“You don’t have to be for Barcelona or Real Madrid to know that the situation was unpleasant,” Iniesta told La Sexta. “And the key component in that story was [Jose] Mourinho.
“Whoever doesn’t want to see that, is radical. You didn’t see the rivalry that always existed before, it went beyond that, you saw hate.
“That atmosphere developed and it was unbearable. The Barca-Madrid tension caused by Mourinho did much damage to the national team [Spain] and the teammates.”
The current United boss spent three seasons with Real and won three trophies with the Spanish giants, most memorably beating Barca to the La Liga title in 2011/12.
