Jamie Vardy is one of Leicester City’s greatest-ever players and a modern-day legend in the Premier League.
The 38-year-old attacker has achieved cult icon status beyond the King Power Stadium with Vardy’s off-the-field personality making the veteran Leicester striker one of the most beloved figures in English football for many neutrals.
With Enzo Maresca also naming Vardy as England’s greatest-ever striker, the former Fleetwood Town man has earned his reputation as one of the deadliest attackers in the last ten years in the Premier League.
Yet former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho once made a claim about Vardy’s career in 2020 that has since gone on to be disproven in a big way by the Leicester talisman.
READ MORE: Who is Jamie Vardy? Inside the life of Leicester City’s legendary striker
Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images
Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images
Jose Mourinho ‘felt sorry’ that Jamie Vardy arrived in the Premier League late
Speaking to the press during his time as Tottenham manager, the legendary Portuguese manager once stated that he ‘felt sorry’ for Vardy for arriving in the Premier League so late in his career, with the attacker making his top-flight debut at 27-years-old.
Yet in the five years since making these comments, Vardy has shown he arrived at the perfect time in the Premeir League, with Leicester since winning the FA Cup and enjoying runs in Europe before being relegated down to the Championship.
Despite the sour note, Vardy’s career has only gone from strength to strength despite Mourinho’s comments, with the former United manager saying in 2020: “I have to say that he’s incredible, and I just feel sorry for him in the sense of he arrived in the Premier League too late.
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“He should arrive a few years before and his career would be even longer, with more goals, with more history for the national team. He’s a fantastic player. If I was a defender, I wouldn’t be happy to play against him because he’s very dangerous.”
How good has Jamie Vardy been for Leicester since 2020?
Leicester’s fortunes since 2020 have been as mixed as any side that has played in the Premier League in the last five years, yet Vardy’s form and ability to deliver at the highest level has never wayned.
Jamie Vardy’s Leicester City stats Games played Goals Assists
2020/21 42 17 9
2021/22 33 17 2
2022/23 42 6 5
2023/24 37 20 2
2024/25 [so far] 27 8 3
Despite an underwhelming 2022/23 season where Leicester were relegated, Vardy’s form has been consistent and impressive for the Foxes, with the attacker this year on course for another 10+ goal haul in with ten Premier League games left to play.
Indeed, Mourinho got it wrong with Vardy and arriving in the Premier League too late, and the striker can embarrass the Portuguese manager this weekend when Leicester face United in a must-win fixture.