Mkhitaryan reveals he called Mourinho 'an enormous s***' during toxic Man Utd fallout

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has lifted the lid on a spectacular falling-out with Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, recalling the moment he told the manager he was “an enormous s***” after months of public criticism and silent treatment at Carrington.

The Armenian midfielder, now 37, arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2016 alongside Mourinho but quickly fell out of favour with the Portuguese coach. After enduring repeated criticism, Mkhitaryan said he finally snapped during a direct confrontation. “I told him, you’ve been criticising me for a year and a half now, ever since I arrived at Manchester United,” he said. “Mourinho told me I was s and I just lost my temper: ‘You are the s. An enormous one.’” Mourinho’s response was immediate: “Get out of here, I never want to see you again.”

What followed, according to Mkhitaryan, was a months-long standoff conducted largely over WhatsApp. “During the training sessions, the coach said nothing to me, he remained at a religious level of silence, but every evening he’d send me a message: ‘Miki, leave, please.’” Mkhitaryan said he replied each time with the same copy-and-paste message, telling Mourinho he would only leave for the right club or wait until the summer.

The dynamic shifted in January 2018 when the texts took on a new urgency. “Towards the middle of January, the text changed slightly,” Mkhitaryan recalled. “‘Miki, please leave, that way I can get Alexis Sanchez.’ So my response mutated too: ‘I am not leaving just to do you a favour, and please stop writing to me. If you want, talk to Mino.’” Agent Mino Raiola was brokering the exchange with Arsenal, and the swap eventually went through.

By most measures, United came off worse in the deal. Mkhitaryan made 59 appearances for Arsenal and registered 22 goal contributions, while Sanchez managed just 45 games for United, scoring five goals and adding nine assists before being loaned to Inter Milan and eventually leaving on a free transfer.

Mkhitaryan himself departed England on a free, joining Roma and going on to win the inaugural UEFA Conference League in 2022 — ironically under the management of Mourinho, the man who had made his life in Manchester so difficult. Despite the history between them, the two shared a trophy together in Rome.

During his time at United, Mkhitaryan did collect silverware of his own, winning the Europa League and two domestic trophies, but his spell at the club is remembered as much for the turbulence off the pitch as for his contributions on it.