Living rent-free in Jose’s head? England defender Luke Shaw takes pop at former boss Mourinho after latest criticism
England’s Luke Shaw says that Jose Mourinho needs to “move on” from their feud as the Portuguese boss aimed further criticism at the Manchester United fullback for what he described as “dramatically bad” set pieces at Euro 2020.
Shaw fell out of favor at Old Trafford during Mourinho’s two-year spell at the club and despite the Portuguese Champions League-winning boss now being exiled from English football in the Italian capital at Serie A side Roma, Mourinho has appeared eager to rekindle the fractious nature of their relationship while acting as an analyst throughout the European Championships.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Mourinho slammed Shaw’s efforts in Gareth Southgate’s team and singled out the 25-year-old defender for what he described as below-par set pieces delivered by the Manchester United man.
Mourinho had previously delivered a shot across Shaw’s bow by endorsing the talents of Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell to start on the left of the English defence – at Shaw’s expense – and this relentless campaign of criticism has finally prompted Shaw to express his bemusement at his former boss’s treatment of him.
“I don’t really understand it, to be honest,” said Shaw.
“I don’t know why he is still going on and wanting to point at me. I don’t feel like the set-pieces were as bad as he was saying.
“I might have done one in the second half, a corner, that didn’t get over the first man. But that was one out of three. The other two or three, I don’t think, were as ‘dramatically bad’ as he says.
“His voice is obviously very big. He likes to talk a lot about me, as everyone has seen recently. But his voice is his own. He can say what he wants.
“Look, he has got to do his job. He has got his opinion. I am used to him saying negative stuff about me now, so I just pass it by. I leave it be, I ignore it. I just focus on what the coaching staff say here, what Gareth [Southgate] says and that’s that, really.
“I will focus on myself. I take set-pieces at United, so it wasn’t as if it was something I wasn’t ready for.”
Mourinho’s comments are the latest in a long line of negative comments about Shaw, whom he had previously described as lacking a “football brain” during their overlap at Old Trafford and had also said that Shaw was “not ready” to work under his methods at Manchester United – where the duo combined to win a Europa League title in 2017.
Shaw also stated that several of his England colleagues had asked him why Mourinho seems to have an agenda against the defender. As far as he is concerned though, the Portuguese needs to “move on” from their feud.
“There is no hiding that we didn’t get on,” Shaw continued.
“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.
“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. 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.”
Mourinho’s assessment is made more unusual by the fact that Shaw is generally considered to have had a career-best season in the most recent Premier League campaign, winning Manchester United’s Players’ Player of the Year award – a dramatic reverse from the tense partnership he endured with Mourinho.
“I don’t think any of you realise the two or three years I had with him and how bad it was then, what it was like then,” continued Shaw.
“But everyone I had around me at the club was fully with me 100%, so whatever went on between me and him was our own thing.
“Around the club … they all supported me fully. So I felt the backing from the club. Not the manager at that point but I knew, if time came in, I would be able to outlast him and I have and I can just focus on getting better and improving.
“What he says now is nothing compared to how it used to be. I am being totally honest. I am so past it now. I have grown up a lot.
“The three years I had with him, I learnt a lot. I find it easy to ignore him now and even laugh about it. But it’s better just to ignore it and move on with my life.”
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