Rio Ferdinand offered an apology to former Old Trafford boss Jose Mourinho for his reaction to the Roma manager’s iconic quote about Manchester United.
United have experienced a torrid season overall. They are unable to qualify for the Champions League, with one game still to play. Plus, a collection of unwanted records puts 2021/22 down as one of their worst campaigns in a long time.
As a result of their 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Brighton, Man United will finish with their worst-ever points total in the Premier League.
In addition, this side has recorded the most losses and fewest wins in a single Premier League season for any United team. To add insult to injury, United have not won a trophy in five seasons. This is their longest dry spell for 39 years.
Read: Statistics show how Man United compare to previous worst PL seasons.
In summary, it’s not a good time to be a supporter.
Even worse, warning signs have existed for years. Following his dismissal from the Old Trafford hot seat, Jose Mourinho delivered a quote hinting at United’s issues that has aged like a fine wine.
Mourinho’s iconic Man United
Speaking on BeIN SPORTS in 2019, the Portuguese tactician made a remarkable claim.
“If I tell you, for example, that I consider one of the best jobs of my career was to finish second with Man United in the Premier League, you will say, ‘this guy is crazy,’” said Mourinho, quotes from ESPN.
“I keep saying this because people don’t know what is going on behind the scenes. And sometimes we, in this side of the cameras [punditry], analyse things with a different perspective.”
At the time, critics met his bold claims with allegations of sour grapes. Man United sacked Jose Mourinho in December 2018. He left after a run of poor form, which gave United their worst start to a league season since 1990.
Despite this, Mourinho’s brilliant soundbite from 2019 suggests that Man United’s off-field problems that they still have today are longstanding. Because of this, Rio Ferdinand has since apologised to Jose Mourinho.
Rio Ferdinand apologises to Jose Mourinho
On his ‘Vibe with FIVE‘ podcast, Ferdinand discussed the quote.
“I think Jose Mourinho’s quote has aged so, so well,” he said. “I think, for one, I would apologise maybe, to some extent, in terms of the way that you kind of looked at him and judged him. But I still feel that there were flaws in some of the ways that he handled people and handled some of the situations that he was involved in.”
The former Man United defender then read out and reflected on Mourinho’s claims from 2019.
“That was said in 2019, on finishing second in the Premier League! That has aged so well. So, we can see that there’s been stuff going on that’s wrong behind the scenes. But, at that time, we didn’t know the extent of it. Obviously, Jose Mourinho did.”
Ferdinand then pondered the situation at the Old Trafford club and what sort of insights the former manager could give about those running Man United.
“He wanted to get rid of numerous players, and he wanted to bring in certain players. And obviously, they handed out big wages and contracts to certain players, and he’s thinking, ‘Woah, what’s going on? I can see the flaws in certain individuals, flaws in the way the club is set up at the moment – I want to change things.’ He wasn’t probably afforded that.
“I would love to have half an hour talking to Jose, just about his time there. Just to kind of work out where he was at with a bit more detail than we’ve actually ever seen and gauge it to where we are now.”
Featured image credit: Getty