While being respectful towards Jose Mourinho, former Man Utd star Eric Cantona has shared his belief that he’s simply not the right man for the Red Devils.
The 52-year-old enjoyed a glittering spell at Old Trafford during his playing days, scoring 82 goals in 185 games for the club while winning four Premier League titles and two FA Cups as he played a pivotal role in one of their most successful periods.
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In turn, the Frenchman will always be loved by the Man Utd faithful, and he has never been shy in sharing his opinions on matters at his former club as noted in his comments below.
Speaking on Mourinho, Cantona has ultimately delivered a fair personal assessment on the Portuguese tactician by insisting that while he is a great coach, he simply doesn’t believe that he’s the right fit for United given the contrasting views and expectations of the way the team should play.
Further, he has even gone one step further by suggesting that Man Utd made a mistake by not going for Pep Guardiola, and that he even fancies himself to do a job at the club if he were to get a call from them.
“Manchester United is a great club and will always be great. They will win things, I know they will,” he told the Daily Mail. “But the way they play? Not good. The manager has them playing the wrong way for the fans. No fun, no creativity. I like Mourinho. He has a good personality but not for United — they should have [Pep] Guardiola as coach. He should be there, but he is doing magic with that other club. The club I cannot name.
“I would like to coach. If they called me, I would go; I would enjoy it. They know where I am. Then we would play creative football once again.”
Given his lack of managerial experience at any level, it’s highly unlikely we’ll see Cantona appointed as United boss any time soon.
Nevertheless, he makes a good point about Guardiola as the Spaniard’s style of play and expansive football would certainly have made him a sensible choice to be the long-term successor for Sir Alex Ferguson and to continue what the legendary manager built.
United missed that boat and he’s now doing a fine job at their city rivals, and so time will tell if they stick with Mourinho for the foreseeable future or consider their options if he can’t deliver success.