Jose Mourinho is, how should we put this, an outspoken individual.
The Portuguese never hesitates to speak his mind. While he’s renowned for aiming jibes at opposing managers or ranting against officials, his players aren’t immune to his wrath either.
Mourinho will never shy away from criticising his team but every so often, he will single out a player.
Sometimes it sparks a reaction in the player in question, but it can all go sour very quickly as well.
The United manager has told Luke Shaw to improve his understanding of the game if he wants to win a regular place in the side.
Despite putting in a good performance in a cameo appearance against Everton on Tuesday, the 21-year-old seems to still have a target on his back.
“He had a good performance, but it was his body with my brain. He was in front of me and I was making every decision for him.
“We need at this level the fantastic body to play football, but he cannot play (by relying on) my understanding of the game.
“He must understand, he must think, he must accelerate the process. He is 21, he is old enough to have a better understanding of the game. But today he has with a positive feeling.”
There have been other fine players who have bore the brunt of Mourinho’s criticism though so Shaw is certainly in good company.
Here’s the five players who have been called out by Jose:
RICARDO CARVALHO
“Ricardo Carvalho seems to have problems understanding things, maybe he should have an IQ test, or go to a mental hospital or something.”
– After Carvalho called him out for not playing him.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
“It’s not even a game between me and him. It’s a game where a kid made some statements not showing maturity and respect. Maybe [it’s his] education, difficult childhood, no education, maybe [it is] the consequence of that.”
– Ronaldo and Mourinho worked well but always had a complex relationship.
"It was Luke Shaw's body with my brain. I made the decisions for him."
— Sport360° (@Sport360) April 5, 2017
The words of Jose 'The Puppeteer' #Mourinho 😂⚽️🤣 pic.twitter.com/gX0D3F3eqh
JOE COLE
“I’ve told him, one more match like that and he’s out. He has to play for the team and not for the public and himself.”
– The Englishman’s flair used to drive Mourinho crazy in his first Chelsea stint.
JUAN MATA
“It’s part of a process with him, too. It is one thing to play with Ramires and Oscar closing down opponents on each side, and Mata as a No10 behind a striker with his clever assists, clever passes and fantastic actions because he has great talent. But it is another thing to adapt to the way we want to play. In this moment, Oscar is my No10 and, if anyone tells me Oscar has not been Chelsea’s best player this season, I’d have to disagree.”
– On why Mata wasn’t good enough to start at Chelsea.
EDEN HAZARD
“We have different concepts of number 10, me and him.For me a number 10 does a lot of things, with the ball and without the ball. Who is my perfect number 10? Wesley Sneijder and Deco. Because they could defend, get in the box and finish goals? Yes.”
– Hazard always stated that his favoured role was behind the striker but Mourinho didn’t agree.
