England defender Luke Shaw has responded in emphatic terms to the latest blast of criticism from Jose Mourinho after their unhappy time together at Manchester United, with the continued spat in stark contrast to the repaired relationship between the Roma coach and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The Portuguese coach described Shaw’s set-pieces as ‘dramatically bad’ after the 1-0 win over Czech Republic in Group D at the Euros and his constant criticism of the 25-year-old sparked a reaction from the Manchester United full-back.
Shaw is growing tired of being targeted by the former Red Devils coach, as he arrives at the European Championship after a fine season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford and the former Southampton player wanted to explain how bad his relationship with Mourinho was during their time together.
Mourinho and Mkhi have fixed their relationship after issues at Man Utd
“He likes some, he doesn’t like others and I fell into the category where he didn’t like me,” Shaw said, according to the Guardian.
“I tried as hard as I could to get back on to his side but it never worked out, no matter what I did.
“There is no hiding that we didn’t get on. I think he was a brilliant manager but, you know, the past is the past. It is time to move on. I am trying to move on but, obviously, he can’t.”
The English defender explained that a few of his teammates at the Three Lions have reacted to the criticism from Mourinho.
“He continuously talks about me, which I find quite strange. Even some of the lads have said: ‘What’s his problem?’ and: ‘Why does he keep talking?’ He just needs to move on,” Shaw continued.
“Hopefully he can find his peace with that and finally move on and stop worrying about me. Clearly I am in his head a lot and he clearly thinks about me a lot.”
When Mourinho was announced new coach at Roma, Mkhitaryan’s future in the Italian capital was immediately questioned. However, the Armenia international renewed with the Giallorossi ahead of 2021-22 after having cleared the air with Mourinho.
Mkhitaryan previously revealed Mourinho had blamed him for negative reports on Mourinho’s performance at Manchester United.
“Once Mourinho saw me at breakfast and said to me: ‘Because of you, the press criticises me,'” he told Forza Roma, according to TeamTalk.
“I replied: ‘Really, mister? I’m not doing it on purpose’.”
But Mkhitaryan conceded that while Mourinho could be ‘difficult’, it was because of his single-minded focus on succeeding.
“He’s a winner by nature. He wants you to win and you do what he asks you,” Mkhitaryan continued.
“It’s difficult for anyone. There have been differences and conflicts, but they have not had a strong impact on good work and the three trophies won.”