Jose Mourinho had one regret over how one of his signings at Manchester United was let go too soon.
That’s according to Graeme Souness who believes that Jose Mourinho regrets letting go of one of his vital signings at Manchester United after he struggled in his third season at Old Trafford.
When appointed to the club, Mourinho made a whole host of big-name signings in his first summer. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were the big signings that the Portuguese serial winner made at the club.
United finished sixth and won the Europa League and in the following season, after shelling out £75 million for Romelu Lukaku, the Red Devils finished second place in the Premier League.
Souness on Zlatan regret
Speaking on talkSPORT, former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness, who has been very critical of the Red Devils in the past, believes Mourinho would have regretted how it ended with Ibrahimovic, in particular.
The Swedish striker was a brilliant signing for the Red Devils in the first season. He netted the winner in the Community Shield final and scored twice, including a brilliant free-kick to win United the Carabao Cup against Southampton.
“I’ve said it to Mourinho. I said: ‘Do you wish you kept Ibrahimovic?'” Souness said. “He looked at me and said: ‘Why do you say that?’
“I said: ‘Because he was your main man who kept them all… [gestures with finger in a circle].
“I can remember watching a video – I was at Sky at the time – he had a strong personality. He was doing an interview for Sky, Ibrahimovic.
“I thought, ‘he’s your man in the dressing room, someone who will point the finger and be big enough to put the would-be superstars in their place’.”
Ibrahimovic scored 29 times for the Red Devils but a rather serious injury suffered towards the back end of the 2016-2017 season meant the Swede struggled to make his mark in his second season.
He was let go in early 2018, and later that season Manchester United lost the FA Cup final with Romelu Lukaku not fit enough to start. It was a game Zlatan was built for, and United had already moved him on.
Mourinho’s regret
If you asked the Portuguese manager if he had any regrets following his time at Old Trafford he would probably say there are several, and letting go of Ibrahimovic is surely up there.
Despite his game time being limited in his second season, the big Swede would have brought experience and a winning mentality to a dressing room that needed it.
His exit seemingly led to United struggling in the 2018-19 season and Mourinho was sacked in December of 2018 after a 3-1 loss to Liverpool.
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