Henrikh Mkhitaryan has no regrets about joining Manchester United in 2016 and explains how Jurgen Klopp changed his attitude.
The Armenian returns to Old Trafford tomorrow as Roma face his former club Manchester United in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals.
“We’re the only club in Italy left in Europe,” Mkhitaryan told The Athletic.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has no regrets about joining Manchester United in 2016 and explains how Jurgen Klopp changed his attitude.
The Armenian returns to Old Trafford tomorrow as Roma face his former club Manchester United in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals.
“We’re the only club in Italy left in Europe,” Mkhitaryan told The Athletic.
“We’re playing three games a week and our opponents are only playing once. But we’re not complaining. We know there are only three games left (in the Europa League) so we have to fight and get the best out of ourselves. If we win the trophy we can qualify for the Champions League automatically,” he added.
The Armenia international played under some of the most successful coaches in modern football: Jurgen Klopp, José Mourinho and Thomas Tuchel, just to name a few.
The current Liverpool boss coached him at Borussia Dortmund and taught him something important.
“Klopp was more friendly with the players. He was more like a psychologist and tried to give you confidence even if you played badly or made mistakes. At that time, I had sad behaviour. When I was playing bad I was closing myself (off), I was not talking to anyone,” the 32-year-old said.
“I felt guilty that we lost a game or played badly because of my mistake. I was putting pressure on myself but Klopp made me understand that football is about 11 players, it’s the team that wins or loses. It’s not about one player. You can make mistakes, no one is safe from mistakes. That’s part of life, so he helped me take the pressure off myself a lot and to always think positive.
“Paulo Fonseca’s a bit similar to Tuchel in that he’s trying to put players in the right position and giving them the freedom to enjoy their football.”
Mkhitaryan joined Manchester United in 2016 and won the Europa League with the Red Devils in his first season at the club with José Mourinho in the dug-out.
“I never regret my decisions,” the Armenian claimed
“At that time, he [Mourinho] was one of the most successful coaches in the world.
“I think he was the coach with the most trophies. So that was a different experience. It was very hard but I learned a lot as well. I learned how to defend, how to help the team.”
Mkhitaryan has 11 goals and 11 assists in 39 appearances across all competitions with the Giallorossi this season and his contract expires at the end of the season.