'I had to leave Man Utd when Jose Mourinho arrived - things just weren't the same'

While Jose Mourinho did deliver trophies at Manchester United, it wasn't enough for Wayne Rooney who admitted he wanted to leave Old Trafford while playing under the Portuguese manager

Wayne Rooney requested to leave Manchester United when Jose Mourinho was manager - admitting it was difficult not playing regularly.

The Fenerbahce boss is gearing up for a clash against his former side as the Turkish giants host the Red Devils in the Europa League on Thursday (October 24).

Despite his Old Trafford firing in 2018, Mourinho delivered a Europa League title and EFL Cup in his first season in Manchester. Regardless of his trophy-filled debut campaign, Rooney was left disillusioned during his reign, going as far as to informing the ex-Chelsea boss of his intention to leave the club.

In what was his 13th season at United, the former England great was largely a bench option in the 2016/17 campaign - an unfamiliar situation for one of the greatest players to ever grace the Premier League.

Speaking on Stick to Football earlier this year, the former United skipper discussed the difficulty of playing a minimal role for the first time in his career. "Playing under José Mourinho was probably my toughest year at Manchester United because I was captain, but I wasn’t playing. I knew when he came in and signed Zlatan Ibrahimović I wasn’t going to get much gametime as he only plays one way and that’s with one striker.

"José started the season with myself and Zlatan up top and we had started well, but we played Norwich City away and I was terrible, the whole team was bad but I was disappointed because I had given him the chance to leave me out the team, which he did and from then, I never really got back in the team.

"That was difficult for me, going into training every day as captain and having to put on a brave face even though I wasn’t playing and wasn’t happy."

Rooney only managed 30 seconds of action combined in the Europa League final against Ajax and the EFL Cup final against Southampton with Mourinho preferring Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the sole striker position.

The Plymouth boss was only able to stomach his diminished role for a few months as he approached Mourinho for the chance to leave United in the winter transfer window with boyhood club Everton wanting to sign the Liverpool native.

"I spoke to José in January 2017 and told him that Everton had approached me, and I wanted to go that month on loan or however because I wanted to play football.

"To be fair, he told me that he may need me for the rest of the season playing in the Europa League games, so asked me to stay till the end of the season and I promise you can you leave then."

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Rooney was granted his wish in the summer of 2017 as he signed a two-year deal with Everton while Mourinho lasted a year and a half more before a dismal run of form in the Premier League saw him face the sack in December 2018.

Now with Fenerbahce, Mourinho has so far led the Turkish side to fourth in their domestic league while they've claimed four points in their opening two Europa League fixtures.

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