What went wrong at Manchester United after Sir Alex retired?
The Special One
José Mourinho: the man that everyone loves to hate. Whether you love him or hate him, there is no denying his quality as a manager. He is a serial winner, as silverware follows him to every club.
Mourinho was appointed manager at Manchester United for the 2016/17 season following his second stint with Chelsea. After a relatively unsuccessful and disappointing three seasons post-Ferguson, United fans were screaming for change.
Mourinho offered that, as he is known for his passionate (and at times excessive) celebrations on the sidelines, and his ‘interesting’ press conferences for lack of a better word. There was real hype around van Gaal’s appointment, but that was tenfold after the announcement of Mourinho.
His summer transfer business reflected his desire to win. Two of football’s biggest stars were brought in, with both Zlatan Ibrahimović and Paul Pogba signing for the Red Devils. Zlatan is obviously one of the best players in the world and will no doubt go down as an all-time great, and Paul Pogba was finally set to make his much awaited return to Old Trafford.
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Mourinho followed that up with the signing of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was fresh off of a career-best season with Borussia Dortmund, finishing the 15/16 season as the league’s assist leader, as well as being voted the Bundesliga Players’ Player of the Season. Another noteworthy signing was the Ivorian defender Eric Bailly. Notable names out the door were Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderlin, and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The 2016/17 campaign was one of the most successful since Ferguson’s departure, as United won three pieces of silverware with the Community Shield, the League Cup and the UEFA Europa League. While they only managed a measly 6th place in the league, their Europa League triumph guaranteed them a spot in the Champions League.
After a trophy studded 2016/17 season, Manchester United achieved their highest points total and league finish since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, finishing in 2nd place with 81 points in 2017/18.
The club saw additions to the squad prior to the successful 17/18 campaign. Mourinho was reunited with Nemanja Matić after signing him for the second time; Victor Lindelöf was brought in to strengthen a very weak back-line; and finally, Romelu Lukaku was signed as a long-term replacement for Zlatan after he went down injured at the end of the previous campaign.
Throughout the 17/18 season, Mourinho was criticized for his defensive playing style, so he made the superstar signing of Arsenal’s Alexis Sánchez in January. The last time that United pried an Arsenal talisman away from the club it saw Robin van Persie. He was the perfect complement to Wayne Rooney at the time, and he was an excellent servant to the club, as he finished as the league’s top scorer that season and was a huge reason for them winning the Premier League that season.
Alexis Sánchez, however, is a very different story. After three-and-a-half goal-filled years at Arsenal, he moved to Old Trafford. To be frank, it was debatably the worst signing in Manchester United history. After being handed the United no. 7 shirt, he only managed a disappointing 3 goals in his 18 appearances for United that season.
As Manchester United once again seemed to be heading in the right direction, they took two more steps back in 2018/19. Before the season even started, the squad was not really improved, as Fred and Diogo Dalot were the only two players brought in. José’s United started out the season with only 7 wins in 17 matches. After a 3-1 loss to rivals Liverpool on December 16th, 2018, Mourinho was the next United manager to be shown the exit door.