Jose Mourinho’s time at Manchester United has long since been forgotten by most, yet Jesse Lingard credits the Portuguese coach with getting the best out of him, even suggesting that sometimes he would pick up his phone and receive a FaceTime call from the now Roma coach.
Lingard has found opportunities in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team difficult to come by, despite being involved in a number of key moments this season, yet the English international is a rare figure in praising the man-management skills of Mourinho.
“Me and Jose had a good relationship generally, though, I have to say,” Lingard wrote on the Players’ Tribune. “He was good to me.
“Before all the injury stuff, he trusted me, put me in for important games. We won trophies and he made me a winner. He could just bring out that side in you.
“He also liked to have a personal connection with his players. Sometimes I’d look at my phone and I’d be getting a random FaceTime from him. Just out of nowhere – just to check in.
“I used to find it so strange at first. He’d call and be like, ‘Hey Jesse, what are you doing?’
And I’d be like, ‘Erm, just chilling, watching TV … (awkward silence) … what are you doing?’
“I found it funny. And, to be fair, it showed how much he cared about us. But in terms of injuries, yeah, it was tough, because he didn’t want to hear it.”
