Jose Mourinho has expressed confidence that struggling Manchester United “will succeed sooner or later” as he prepares to face his former club with Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday.
United’s current manager, Erik ten Hag, finds himself under increasing pressure following a disappointing start to the season, which has seen the team secure only draws in their first two European matches against Twente and Porto.
Mourinho, who has managed several high-profile clubs, including Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Tottenham, believes United possesses significant potential and hopes for their success.
“Maybe you English guys think I’m bluffing, think I am playing mind games,” Mourinho stated during his pre-match press conference on Wednesday. “I’m not playing anything — they have a better team than the results are showing. I studied them the maximum I could with my staff and my analysts. We watched everything in the Premier League, we watched everything in the two matches, Twente and Porto — there is work there. They will succeed sooner or later. Hopefully sooner and hopefully before one day I go back to the Premier League and they become my opponents. At this moment they are just my opponents for one match.”
Reflecting on his tenure at Manchester United from 2016 to 2018, during which he won the League Cup and Europa League, Mourinho was asked about the club’s struggles over the past decade. He responded, “Honestly, I didn’t lose one minute thinking about it. I wish the best to Man Utd since the moment I left. I left with a good feeling for the club, with a good feeling for the fans, and I want the best for them. So if things are not going amazingly well for them, it’s not something that makes me happy, but at the same time I have no time.”