Manchester United winger Alexis Sanchez has said that Jose Mourinho created a confusing atmosphere at Old Trafford.
Mourinho brought Sanchez to the club in January 2018 in a swap deal for Henrikh Mkhitaryan but the Chilean has underwhelmed since his move north with just five goals in 37 games.
Sanchez was often a rotational player under Mourinho during his reign at the club and he admitted that his lack of consistent games in the first-team began to knock his confidence.
“I’ll tell you personally. I say things as they are, and in my opinion, Mourinho is one of the best coaches in the world,” the former Barcelona winger told the BBC before United’s fifth round FA Cup tie with Chelsea on Monday.
“In the way that he coaches, how he studies videos, the way he goes about things but then within the group there was that feeling that you were in the team then out.
“Sometimes I didn’t play, then I did, then I didn’t, and as a player you lose confidence, each player lost their confidence and then an atmosphere was created that was very…. confusing.
“Sometimes I’m playing well and I score a goal and he took me off and I’d say ‘I love football, I love football’.
“I’ve played football since I was five and if I have the ball taken away from me, it’s as if I lose my joy.”
Teammate Ander Herrera said that he was very thankful of Mourinho during his time at the club but added that interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has brought the smiles back to Old Trafford.
“I don’t like to do comparisons, first of all I want to make that clear, because I have huge respect for Mourinho,” added Herrera.
“He gave me a lot of things and I will be always thankful and Ole brought the smiles. He takes the best from the most talented players. He reminds us of Ferguson and that’s a big step that he’s already made.”
