Jose Mourinho has 'no problems' with Arsene Wenger as he insists old rival doesn't need to 'make peace'

The Manchester United manager believes his relationship with his Arsenal adversary has grown to the point that they

Miguel Delaney
Friday 05 May 2017 08:59 EDT
Comments
Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho have 'no problems', according to the Manchester United manager
Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho have 'no problems', according to the Manchester United manager (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Jose Mourinho says Arsene Wenger does not need to try and “make peace” with the Manchester United manager, because he believes recent meetings prove they have a respectful relationship and “no problems”, and even joked that the Arsenal boss will be happier with him than ever due to the fact he will be forced into picking a much-changed team at the Emirates on Sunday.

The two coaches have had one of the most rancorous rivalries of all of those between bosses in the Premier League - and perhaps even more furious than Wenger’s one-time antipathy towards Mourinho’s Old Trafford predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson - having exchanged barbs and even physical shoves over the past 13 years.

Wenger had said on Thursday he was open to a thawing of their relationship, but Mourinho believes that is already the case, because he is willing to leave any issues on the pitch - or, in this case, the sidelines next to it.

“He doesn’t need to [make peace],” the Portuguese said. “He doesn’t need to because there are no problems. In the last match at Old Trafford, we shook hands before, after, I remember that I still met him in the corridor for the press conferences, we shook hands again. He doesn’t need to make peace.

“When there is peace, we don’t have to have problem. I am a big boy, I’m in football all my life, I know a problem on the pitch the next day is not a problem at all. So for me not a problem at all and I think he will be really pleased with me that I am going to change my team against Arsenal, so I think he’ll be really happy with me!”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in