"Manchester United" coach Jose Mourinho insists that he has never worked with a better footballer than Nemanja Matic.
The defensive midfielder moved to the "Red Devils" this summer from London's "Chelsea," where he also arrived at the request of the Portuguese after leaving Lisbon's "Benfica."
Interestingly, Mourinho has worked with a huge array of stars throughout his career, including four-time "Ballon d'Or" winner Cristiano Ronaldo. However, he values the Serb more.
"When it comes to Matic, I can't say that I've had better guys than him in my career," the "Man United" manager told "The Times."
"He has something with me that will be remembered forever. It was a game where he was sitting on the bench, I took him out in the 45th minute, and I substituted him in the 70th or 75th minute."
"The press wants a story. The press wants blood."
"My blood, his blood, or both. He was really sad. I was sad too because it's not something fun. It's something I've done only twice in my career."
"Nevertheless, the next day he came to me and said, 'I'm not happy, but it's my fault. I'm unhappy with what you did with me, but it's my fault because, considering how I played, I can understand the substitution. So let's move on.'
"We moved on for not very long, as after a few weeks, I was fired."
"However, he is one of my guys. He was one of my guys, with whom we remained close even in years when we didn't work together. So, I know there is a great man here, just even more mature."
Matic quickly adapted to his new club and immediately broke into the "Man United" starting lineup.
