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Jose Mourinho’s stint as Manchester United manager came to an end after a turbulent first half of the season. Like at many of the clubs he managed, he has left United in a state of chaos and anarchy. However, many players will be happy to see him go given his strained relationship with them.
The careers of promising youngsters like Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford seems to have stagnated under Mourinho while those like Andreas Pereira hardly got a look in. In fact, if Mourinho stayed at the club during the January transfer window, then Pereira was most likely to be sold and that could have been a decision the club would regret in the future.
Mourinho has sold many promising youngsters at his previous clubs and even one at Manchester United without giving them enough opportunities to prove themselves. So, here are five current superstars who were sold by Mourinho without giving them a fair crack with the first team under his tutelage.
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#5. Memphis Depay
Memphis Depay arrived at Manchester United in 2015 from PSV Eindhoven with a lot of fanfare and expectations after scoring 28 goals in 40 games en route to helping PSV win the Eredivisie title in 2014/15.
He arrived at the club under Louis van Gaal but the weight of expectations which came along with wearing the #7 kit at Manchester United tied him down and he had a poor debut season.
When Mourinho arrived at the club, it was a chance for Memphis to start afresh. However, he hardly got a look in. Memphis’ only start under Mourinho was in a League Cup match against Northampton Town and he made seven substitute appearances in the league and Europa League combined but was on the pitch for a total of only 79 minutes.
The Dutchman was sold to Olympique Lyon in January 2017 with United inserting a buy-back clause and he hit the ground running at his new club.
The 24-year-old has played in multiple positions for Lyon and racked up 33 goals and 34 assists in only 91 games for the French giants. His impressive form at club level has also made him a constant in the Netherlands national team for whom he has scored eight goals in his last 16 games.
Will Manchester United use the buy-back clause to bring Memphis back to the club in the near future?
#4. Romelu Lukaku
It’s funny that the same manager who sold Romelu Lukaku at Chelsea later signed him for a hefty fee at Manchester United in 2017.
Lukaku joined Chelsea in 2011 from Anderlecht but due to limited first-team opportunities, he went on loan to West Brom in 2012/13 and scored 17 goals in 35 Premier League games which was the sixth highest in the league.
The following season, Mourinho returned to Chelsea and Lukaku had a chance to break into the first team as Chelsea’s other striking options were a struggling Fernando Torres and Demba Ba. However, Lukaku missed a decisive penalty kick in the UEFA Super Cup and was later loaned to Everton while Mourinho signed the veteran, Samuel Eto’o, to solve Chelsea’s striker woes.
At the end of the season, Lukaku scored 15 Premier League goals for Everton which was more than the number of goals Eto’o (12), Torres (11) and Ba (8) scored in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2014/15 season, Chelsea parted ways with Eto’o, Torres and Ba; and replaced them with Costa, Drogba and Remy. As Lukaku still did not get a look in at, he moved permanently to Everton where he scored 87 goals in 166 games in all competitions.
The Belgian has also become his country’s all-time leading goalscorer with 45 goals in 79 games and he’s still only 25-years-old. He has regressed a little under Mourinho this season but a new manager can definitely get the best out of him soon.
#3. Leonardo Bonucci
Jose Mourinho’s stint with Inter Milan was largely flawless as he won a historic treble with them in 2010. The only blemish would be his decision to sell Leonardo Bonucci.
The Italian was brought back to the club in the summer of 2008 when Mourinho was appointed Inter’s manager but Bonucci was immediately loaned out to Treviso playing in Serie B.
After a year on loan, he returned to Inter but was surplus to requirements as Mourinho’s centre-back options were Lúcio, Walter Samuel, Iván Córdoba and Marco Materazzi but all four of these players were on the wrong side of their thirties.
Bonucci was used as a makeweight in the deal to bring Diego Milito and Thiago Motta to the club from Genoa. He was later transferred to Bari through a co-ownership deal.
The centre-back moved to Juventus in 2010 and has gone on to become one of the best centre-backs in the world. In fact, Bonucci was one of the defenders Mourinho hoped to sign at Manchester United last summer.
The 31-year-old has won numerous trophies with Juventus, was named the Serie A footballer of the year in 2015/16 and named in the FIFPro World XI in 2017.
#2. Kevin De Bruyne
If it wasn’t for a certain Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Buryne would have been named the PFA Player of the Year in 2017/18 for the key role he played in Manchester City’s record-breaking title-winning season. De Bruyne scored 12 goals and assisted 21 more in all competitions for Man City and he had the most assists in Europe’s Top 5 leagues.
In 2013, De Bruyne returned to Chelsea after a successful loan spell with Werder Bremen. He had offers to leave Chelsea with Borussia Dortmund keen on signing him to replace Mario Gotze. However, Mourinho convinced De Bruyne to stay at Chelsea and promised him that he would get opportunities.
After starting only five games halfway into the 2013/14 season, he left Chelsea permanently to sign for Wolfsburg. He had a fantastic season for Wolfsburg in 2014/15 during which he scored 16 goals and assisted 27 more in 51 games across all competitions while also being named the Bundesliga Player of the Year.
#1. Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah was close to signing for Liverpool in January 2014 before Chelsea swooped in at the last moment. The Egyptian struggled for regular playing time at Chelsea under Mourinho and was used as a backup to Eden Hazard, Willian and Andre Schurrle.
He played only 12 games for Chelsea and started just six of those games. Nevertheless, he scored twice and registered an assist despite his limited opportunities.
Salah moved to the Serie A in January 2015 first on loan to Fiorentina and later to Roma before permanently joining the latter ahead of the 2016/17 season. He was an instant hit in Italy and scored 43 goals in 109 games in all competitions for both clubs combined.
The Egyptian [King] returned to the Premier League ahead of the 2017/18 season with Liverpool and went on a record-breaking season. He scored 44 goals in 52 games across all competitions in his debut season with te Reds and picked up numerous individual awards.
In total, he has 57 goals and 18 assists in only 76 games for Liverpool. Not bad for a player who was overlooked by Jose Mourinho.
