Former Manchester United youngster Angel Gomes has revealed the moment Jose Mourinho left him on the verge of tears after a brutal dressing down in front of his teammates.
Gomes, part of the England side that won the Under-17 World Cup in 2017 alongside Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho and Emile Smith Rowe, came through the United academy after joining the club at the age of six.
He was handed his senior debut by Mourinho in 2017, becoming United’s youngster player since Duncan Edwards after replacing Wayne Rooney on the final day of the season against Crystal Palace.
But the Lille midfielder, now 21, has recalled the time the manager slammed him for his performance in an Under-21 game in front of senior teammates.
‘I’ve never actually told this story before but one time, [Mourinho] took me to a cup game with the first team after I’d played with the Under-21s,’ Gomes told Sport Bible.
‘We were at the dinner table and he’s come around speaking to everyone. He then looks at me and says, ‘I am f***d with you.’
‘At the time he was having a laugh with everyone, so I thought he was joking with me.
‘I asked why and he brought up my performance from the day before. He must have thought I’d played s**t.
‘I didn’t think I played that badly but he’s the big boss, so if he thought I’d played bad, I’d played bad.’
Gomes continued: ‘He was saying, ‘You were doing this and doing that but you should have done this and that’… and this was in front of the whole squad as well.
‘I’d had b*****kings in my time but not from the big boss. I just wasn’t expecting it. I was taken aback.
‘He eventually finished shouting and carried on with what he was doing.
‘I was stuck to my seat. Eventually some of the lads came over and said, ‘don’t worry, just ignore him, he’s trying to get a reaction from you. This is how he is.’
‘I was only young so in my head I was thinking, ‘F***, he hates me.’ I went back to my room and rang my dad. I was nearly crying.’
After his debut, Gomes would go onto make just one more senior appearance under Mourinho. Despite being one of the club’s most highly-rated youngsters, he left the club at the end of his contract in 2020 before joining French side Lille.
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