Jose Mourinho is one of the best managers of the 21st century. Winning major honours with Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Roma, he has been a huge presence in the modern era of football.
When all is said and done, though, he will perhaps be best remembered for his spiky personality. Never one to shy away from giving his true opinion, the Portuguese has publicly fallen out with many big names.
The likes of Paul Pogba, Iker Casillas, and Samuel Eto'o have all incurred Mourinho's wrath over the years, but his criticism of Manchester United star Luke Shaw was so regular that the Englishman claimed his former manager could not get him out of his head.
Mourinho Constantly Criticised Shaw
34-cap Englishman eventually hit back
It was well-known that the pair did not get on well at Old Trafford. After a match between Man United and Everton in 2017, Mourinho diminished the defender's quality, claiming Shaw had used "his body with my brain" adding, "he was in front of me and I was making every decision for him”.
The 'Special One' would leave the Red Devils in 2018, but he continued to criticise the Englishman when working as a pundit. Indeed, speaking at Euro 2020, Mourinho delivered a brutal putdown in typical fashion as he said Shaw's corner kicks were:
"Dramatically bad."
This seemed to be a step too far as Shaw refused to bite his tongue any longer, with the left-back hitting back at his former manager in spectacular fashion. Publicly lashing out for the first time, said:
"Clearly I am in his head a lot and he clearly thinks about me a lot.
"There is no hiding that we didn't get on, 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."
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Theory on Why Mourinho Did Not Like Shaw
Dates back to Chelsea rejection
There is actually a theory behind the origins of their issues, which dates back to Mourinho's second spell at Chelsea. The iconic manager is said to have not forgotten how Shaw turned down the chance to join him at Chelsea in 2014, when he instead chose the Red Devils.
Mourinho was considerably critical of Shaw at the time, saying: “If we pay to a boy what we were being asked for, we are dead … we would have killed our stability in our dressing room.”
The pair did enjoy some success together at Old Trafford, winning two major honours. That said, Shaw was injured for both the Europa League and League finals in 2016/17. The 34-cap Englishman remains at Man United to this day, it's hard to imagine he would stick around, however, if Mourinho ever returned as manager.
Shaw Under Mourinho at Man Utd
Games
Goals
Assists
Honours
Stats via Transfermarkt