Man United player reveals Jose Mourinho ‘begged him to leave’ when he was manager at the club

The Portuguese manager led the Red Devils from 2016 until 2018

Mourinho was hired by England's most successful side to take over from Louis van Gaal in 2016.

The former Real Madrid and Porto coach led his side to Europa League and League Cup triumphs before eventually departing in 2018.

One of Mourinho's very first signings at Old Trafford has revealed the surprising the reason he departed Man United while the Portuguese coach was in charge.

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Armenian player Henrikh Mkhitaryan has detailed his final moments in Manchester within a new book he is set to release.

Within the pages, the 36-year-old says of Mourinho: "I told him, you’ve been criticising me for a year-and-a-half now, ever since I arrived at Manchester United.

“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.’

“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.’”

As alluded to in the passage, Mkhitaryan eventually left Old Trafford as part of a swap deal with Arsenal for their wantaway star Alexis Sanchez.

Despite being one of Arsenal best players of the last decade, Sanchez failed to replicate his form at Man United.

The Chilean scored five goals in 45 appearances for United.

Mkhitaryan also struggled at Arsenal but has since reinvigorated his career in Italy with Roma and Inter Milan.

The 36-year-old was part of the Inter Milan team that made it all the way to the Champions League final in May.