The combination of Manchester United s Champions League elimination by Sevilla and Jose Mourinho s post-match remarks saw the Portuguese attract significant criticism, but the manager has come out swinging in response as he went on a 12-minute tirade on Friday.
After Wissam Ben Yedder stunned United by inspiring Sevilla s 2-1 win at Old Trafford on Tuesday, Mourinho risked the wrath of supporters by saying a Champions League exit was nothing new to the club.
That did not go down well and he came in for criticism, but the 55-year-old hit back in Friday s news conference.
Here are the 10 best quotes from Mourinho s diatribe:
1. Mourinho claimed United s fans are lucky to have him
I could be in another league where the title is in […
Kyle Walker feels it was a gruelling first pre-season under Mauricio Pochettino which laid the groundwork for Tottenham to challenge for the Premier League title.
Spurs, five points behind shock leaders Leicester City with four matches of the season to go, are firmly in contention to win what would be their first league championship since 1960-61.
According to defender Walker, a brutal period of physical preparation orchestrated by uncompromising manager Pochettino after his arrival in 2014 has been key to the London side s development, with the Premier League s traditional heavyweights including rivals Arsenal trailing in their wake this season.
He told the Telegraph: I m not going to lie. At the start it was horrible. Horrible.
When you reach the fir…
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola feels he is already nearing the end of his coaching career.
Guardiola, 45, has a three-year contract at the Etihad Stadium but does not envision continuing in the same capacity far beyond that.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all time, the Spaniard has won 22 trophies since starting out at Barcelona B in 2007.
The Spaniard led Barca s first team to a historic treble in 2008-09 and won three successive Bundesliga titles in as many years at Bayern Munich.
But, despite being in the early stages of his time at City, Guardiola says he is already winding down his career.
I will be at Manchester for the next three seasons, maybe more, but I am arriving at the end of my coaching career, of this I am su…
The United States will host FIFA’s new, expanded Club World Cup in 2025, football’s global governing body has announced.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed the 32-team tournament on the eve of the 2022 World Cup final.
It is set to feature 12 European clubs, including the last three Champions League winners Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City.
FIFA Council appoints United States as host of new and expanded FIFA Club World Cup
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia)
The USA will co-host the 2026 World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico.
The dates for the new tournament have not yet been confirmed, but it is expected to fill the summertime slot left open by the now-defunct Confederations Cup.
The European Club Associatio…
Thomas Tuchel s spell in charge of Borussia Dortmund came to an abrupt end on Tuesday as the Bundesliga side decided to part ways with their head coach with immediate effect.
The former Mainz boss led Dortmund to a second-place finish in his first season at Signal Iduna Park, before guiding them to third this term despite the departure of high-profile names such as Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
To cap it all off, the 43-year-old celebrated DFB-Pokal glory at the weekend as BVB beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 in the final in Berlin.
It was not enough to save Tuchel, though, as his strained relationship with the club s board of directors, including CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, cost him his job, with a number of key players allegedly unhappy wit…
Jude Bellingham can leave Borussia Dortmund if Europe s big names come calling as the German club cannot afford to fight financially , says their CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke.
Bellingham s strong start to the season has seen him register 12 goal involvements in all competitions, earning him a place in England s World Cup and garnering interest from a number of top clubs.
Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City are all rumoured to be interested in the midfielder, who signed for Dortmund from Birmingham City as a 17-year-old in 2020 for an initial fee of £25million.
If Bellingham does leave, Dortmund reportedly want a fee of €100m, though that number could end up reaching €150m should a bidding war play out for his services.
One of my biggest dreams grow…
Mohamed Salah wants to emulate George Weah as only the second-ever African to win the Ballon d Or, and was shocked by his seventh-place finish last year.
The Egypt international posted sixth and fifth-place finishes in 2018 and 2019 in the annual awards ceremony to crown the best men s footballer in the world.
But he saw his standing slip two years later after a 2020 cancellation, placing outside the top six as Lionel Messi extended his record haul.
Since then, Salah has helped fire Liverpool to a domestic cup double, plus a second-place Premier League finish and another Champions League final during 2022 as he recorded 46 goal involvements in 2021-22 (31 goals, 15 assists).
In addition, he has already picked up a slew of individual prizes, including ano…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Manchester United supporters are prepared to show patience with his long-term plans for the club.
United have won just three of 13 Premier League matches since their promising 4-0 victory over Chelsea on the opening weekend.
They could slide into the bottom half of the table if Jose Mourinho s Tottenham leave Old Trafford with all three points on Wednesday.
But the Red Devils boss claimed the fans he has spoken to understand the need to look beyond middling recent results.
For me, I can just go on the evidence of the game days and supporters I ve met, Solskjaer said.
There are not many I ve met that say: You ve got to do something different. They can see what we re trying to do.
They know there s a lot of w…
According to a recent report from Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona legend Xavi could be making his return to the Nou Camp at the end of the season in order to take over from Quique Setién as the club s new manager.
The 40-year-old spent four years from 2015 to 2019 with Al Sadd in Qatar, and since retiring from playing, he has been the club s manager.
Whether or not he d be able to successfully make such a large jump up in difficulty remains to be seen, but given the spiral that Barca seem to find themselves in right now, they ll seemingly be willing to give anything a go.
Xavi was one of the most beloved stars that has ever pulled on the famous Barca strip, but there s an argument to be made that he could tarnish that reputation if things don t go to plan for him as…
According to a recent report from Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona’s sporting director Eric Abidal is believed to be interested in signing players from three positions in particular: full-back, centre-back and striker. The current contenders that are leading the way in those departments are Joshua Kimmich, Nikola Milenkovic and Lautaro Martinez. There is also interest in Lukas Klostermann, Andreas Christensen and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, all of whom have been linked with moves away from their respective clubs as of late.
It certainly feels like Barca are going to be going to be busy over the course of the next few months, but in terms of these potential deals, the club are said to be looking towards next summer as opposed to January in terms of actually making them happen. …