Henrikh Mkhitaryan explains rough treatment from Jose Mourinho at Man Utd, it led to Alexis Sanchez transfer

Former Manchester United star Henrikh Mkhitaryan has detailed his troubled relationship with Jose Mourinho in a new book.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan spent a year and a half at Manchester United, making 63 appearances and scoring 13 goals.

The Armenian won the Europa League and Carabao Cup during his time at Old Trafford before going on to play for Arsenal, Roma and Inter Milan.

Most of Mkhitaryan’s success came at Inter Milan, where he won the Serie A and Champions League.

Although Jose Mourinho was responsible for bringing Mkhitaryan to United, we now find out that the pair’s relationship became turbulent over time. It helps explain why the former Borussia Dortmund failed to settle with the Red Devils.

Jose Mourinho sent brutal texts to Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Aged 36, Mkhitaryan has announced plans to retire from professional football after his contract with Inter Milan expires in the summer of 2026.

Mkhitaryan retired from international football in 2021 after earning 95 appearances for Armenia down the years.

The midfielder arrived at Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund in 2016 before struggling to acclimatise to his new surroundings in the Premier League.

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In his first season, Mkhitaryan scored 11 goals in 41 games, but this wasn’t enough to get into Mourinho’s good books.

Mourinho would make it clear to Mkhitaryan that he wanted him to leave the club to help bring in Alexis Sanchez as his replacement.

As revealed in his new book ‘My Life Always at the Centre’, Mkhitaryan wrote (via Calciomercato): “I told him, you’ve been criticising me for a year-and-a-half now, ever since I arrived at Manchester United.

“Mourinho told me I was ‘s***’ and I just lost my temper. ‘You are the s***. An enormous one. Mou replied: ‘Get out of here, I never want to see you again.’

“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 via WhatsApp. ‘Miki, leave, please.’

“The situation had become grotesque. I’d reply every time with the same copy and paste response. I will leave if I find the right team, otherwise I’ll wait for the summer. Towards the middle of January, the text changed slightly. ‘Miki, please leave, that way I can get Alexis Sanchez.’

He added: “Mino Raiola was working on this exchange with Arsenal. 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.’ And everyone lived happily ever after.”

Mkhitaryan eventually left United and joined Arsenal, as Sanchez went the other way before flopping at Old Trafford.

He worked with Mourinho again after United when they were reunited at Roma in 2021-22. Although the Armenian would go on to join Inter as a free agent shortly after.

Mourinho is currently in charge of Benfica after being let go by Fenerbahce.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan advice for young players

As one of the senior players at Inter Milan, Mkhitaryan is guiding the young players before he leaves San Siro at the end of the season.

In a recent interview, Mkhitaryan gave a message to young players that could be echoed on the walls at Carrington.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Mkhitaryan outlined the dangers of using phones inside the club’s facilities, explaining how it can negatively impact players’ performances.

“If you look at the night sky, you see so many stars. If you focus on just one, you can’t see the others. The same thing happens with your phone: if you only look at it, you can’t see what’s going on around you. That’s why I don’t like it being used too much in the locker room or the gym. This also affects performance: then on the pitch, you lower your head, you only look at the ball and you don’t see your teammates. This is an illness for many kids; it goes far beyond football.”

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