Jose Mourinho wants AS Roma to sign two Manchester United stars – Reports
Jose Mourinho has asked AS Roma to sign Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata from Manchester United. The two players are nearing the end of their contracts and could move to Italy in the summer.
Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Jose Mourinho has the two Manchester United stars high on his wishlist, and AS Roma are ready to get them. The report also linked them with RB Leipzig star Marcel Sabitzer and two Tottenham Hotspur stars – Eric Dier and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.
Jose Mourinho was appointed as the head coach by AS Roma yesterday after they announced Paulo Fonseca was leaving the club. The former Chelsea and Manchester United manager was without a club after Tottenham sacked him last month.
Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata on AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho
Both Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata have worked with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Manchester United. While the manager sold the latter during his Chelsea stint, the Serbian was signed after Mourinho moved to Old Trafford.
Nemanja Matic spoke to Manchester United's official website during Jose Mourinho's time at the club and said:
"I haven't had many managers in my life but he is special because he wants to win, always. You can see when we lose a game, he cannot accept that. Probably that's why he won more than 20 trophies in his life.
"He always wants more and more. Even if you win the league, he wants to win again next season. He is like this and the players need to be ready for that."
Juan Mata was not in Jose Mourinho's plans at Chelsea, but at Old Trafford, the manager used the Spaniard often. Talking to Daily Mail regarding the relationship with the Portuguese manager, Mata said in 2019:
"I have no personal bitterness towards him at all. I was at Chelsea, Player of the Year for two years, everything was rosy and then he arrived with a different approach, which I respect because there is not only one approach in football.
"So there was a football reason. I take it like it is. I went to United and after some time, he came to United, too. I feel content and happy with myself because again the easiest decision would have been to leave, knowing his approach and my qualities."
Jose Mourinho takes charge of AS Roma in the summer. This will be his second stint in Serie A after managing Inter Milan from 2008-2010.