- Jose Mourinho was in charge of Manchester United between 2016 and 2018
- Paul Scholes claims it wasn’t right fit but pointed to the trophies Mourinho won
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Paul Scholes has insisted Jose Mourinho was never the right fit for Manchester United.
The Portuguese boss was in charge at Old Trafford between the summer of 2016 and December 2018.
He led United to success in the EFL Cup and the UEFA Europa League during his first season, before a second-place Premier League finish behind Manchester City in his second campaign.
But his tenure unravelled in his third season following poor results and a rift with high-profile players including Paul Pogba.
Mourinho is set to face United when they travel to his new club Fenerbahce in the Europa League and Scholes insists his opinion on the 61-year-old’s time at the club has not changed.
Paul Scholes has insisted Jose Mourinho was never the right fit for Manchester United
The 61-year-old was in charge of Red Devils between the summer of 2016 and December 2018
He said on TNT Sports: ‘I thought he was always a little bit prickly. Attitude wasn’t always great towards the people he was working with.
‘He doesn’t think he got the support from the upper above, I think he’s made that clear. You have to say with the support Erik ten Hag has had, he probably has a point.
‘I never felt it was the right match at the time. He did well, won a couple of trophies, finished second as he reminded us but I never felt it was right. I don’t think he was fully committed himself to Manchester. There were rumours of him staying at a hotel, he didn’t rent a house, buy a house, travelled up and down on the train all the time.
‘It was a tough job for him. I don’t think it was a marriage made in heaven but got a couples of trophies.
A poor start to the 2017-18 season led to Mourinho being sacked after a 3-1 loss to bitter rivals Liverpool.
Scholes insists Mourinho was ‘prickly’ at Old Trafford and that his attitude was not right
He then joined Tottenham 11 months later and remained there until April 2021 when he was sacked after a poor run of results.
Mourinho then returned to Serie A with Roma and won the first edition of the Europa Conference League before departing in January 2024.
Fenerbahce currently sit four in the Turkish league, eight points behind leaders Galatasaray having played one game less.