Mkhitaryan says Mourinho called him shit and texted him to leave.
The football world was rocked by Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan's explosive revelations about his tumultuous relationship with Jose Mourinho during their time together at Manchester United, a saga that exposes the brutal psychological warfare sometimes waged behind the glamorous facade of top-level football. In a stunning excerpt from his autobiography, Mkhitaryan details how his £30 million move from Borussia Dortmund in 2016, initially hailed as a coup for the Red Devils, rapidly devolved into a personal nightmare under the Portuguese manager, culminating in Mourinho allegedly telling the player he was 'shit' and initiating a bizarre, persistent campaign of WhatsApp messages pleading for his departure.This wasn't a simple clash of personalities; it was a calculated, protracted breakdown of a professional relationship, played out in the training grounds of Carrington and the private messages on their phones. Mkhitaryan recounts the moment his patience finally snapped after a year and a half of constant criticism, leading to a fiery exchange where he hurled the insult back at his manager, branding Mourinho a 'huge shit,' a retort that resulted in his immediate banishment from the first-team picture.The situation descended into what the player described as 'absurd,' with Mourinho maintaining a stony silence in person only to relentlessly text him each evening with the same blunt request: 'Micki, please leave. ' This modern-day managerial pressure tactic, using instant messaging as a tool for ostracization, highlights a stark power imbalance and a deeply unprofessional environment.The midfielder's pragmatic responses, insisting he would only depart for a suitable club, show a player trying to maintain control of his career amidst the chaos. The most telling twist came in mid-January 2018, when Mourinho's messages reportedly evolved, revealing the cold, transactional engine driving the entire affair: 'Micki, please leave, so I can get Alexis Sanchez.' This admission lays bare the brutal reality of football's transfer market, where players are often mere chess pieces in a larger strategic game. The subsequent swap deal that saw Mkhitaryan move to Arsenal and Sanchez arrive at Old Trafford is now framed not as a mutual agreement but as the culmination of this prolonged, psychologically draining campaign.Comparing this to Mourinho's past man-management, from his falling out with Iker Casillas at Real Madrid to his public criticism of Luke Shaw, a pattern emerges of a manager who often relies on confrontation, though the private, digital nature of this harassment marks a new, insidious low. For Mkhitaryan, a technically gifted playmaker often compared to legends like Dennis Bergkamp in his style, this period represented a profound waste of talent and a stark contrast to the free-flowing football he later enjoyed at Roma and Inter Milan, where he flourished and won trophies. This story transcends a simple he-said-he-said; it serves as a cautionary tale about the human cost of football's relentless pressure, questioning the methods used to achieve success and the lasting scars they can leave on players long after the final whistle has blown on their tenure at a club.
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