Man Utd academy star regrets angry Jose Mourinho moment that cost him his chance

One Manchester United academy star has recalled his frosty relationship with Jose Mourinho when he was manager at Old Trafford.

There is not currently too many positives at Manchester United, with Erik ten Hag’s side looming in 14th place in the Premier League and struggling in the Europa League.

It was a similar case last term but the season–and Ten Hag’s job–was saved by the FA Cup final heroics against Manchester City.

Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, two Academy graduates, scored the goals that day and have been the shining lights for United throughout a difficult period.

Through the good and bad, youth development has been at the forefront of United’s focus for many, many years. But it doesn’t always work out for those talented players in the Academy setup.

Callum Gribbin is perhaps one of the biggest examples of this, with several different factors, including injuries, impacting his once incredibly-promising career in football.

Gribbin, 25, now plays for non-league outfit FC United of Manchester after spells at Sheffield United, Barrow and Radcliffe following his release from Old Trafford in 2019.

Once one of the most exciting prospects at Carrington – perhaps comparable to Kobbie Mainoo’s standing in the Academy before he reached first-team status – Gribbin has opened up on his career so far in a detailed interview with The Athletic.

Gribbin recalls Mourinho spell

While there are a number of factors behind the left-footed playmaker’s difficulties, his relationship with Jose Mourinho seemed to be one of those.

He recalled how he felt about the United manager, who was in charge as he approached the fringes of the first-team squad, and why he didn’t seem interested in the Academy talent around the club.

Yet, Gribbin also admits that it is something that shouldn’t have bothered him at the time. Young players have to earn the respect of someone like Mourinho and the 25-year-old now reflects that he began to rely on his talent in the latter years of his United career.

“I used to think, ‘He’s not arsed, is he? He doesn’t even care about getting to know my name’. I look back now and I know I shouldn’t have got pissed off about it,” he began.

“But at the time, it used to get to me that I’d go out for training and he wouldn’t even watch.

“He’d be speaking to his staff or on the phone and I used to think, ‘I’m here, I’m trying to get a chance and he’s not even interested’.

“If I did say something to anyone, he’d be looking at me like, ‘You can’t be having a go, you’re an 18-year-old training with the first team’. But in my head, I was thinking, ‘No, I want to get a chance here’. So there were a few issues with Mourinho and other staff. Little things, just building up.”

Ultimately, Mourinho would depart the club after being sacked in December 2019, but Gribbin was released several months prior. Now, following some dreadful injury luck, he is trying to rebuild his career around the corner from Old Trafford.

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