I was Jose Mourinho's most used player at Man United but it was difficult to play at my best

Jose Mourinho is set to reunite with Manchester United on Thursday night when Fenerbahce play host to Erik ten Hag's side in the Europa League.

Despite six years passing since Mourinho was sacked by the Manchester club, there will still be a number of familiar faces arriving in Turkey for the Portuguese head coach to reacquaint himself with. One of those happens to be the player he entrusted more times than any other while at Old Trafford - Marcus Rashford.

Rashford racked up 125 appearances for the Reds during Mourinho's stint with the club, 12 more than goalkeeper David de Gea. Despite this, the England international did not speak entirely enthusiastically about playing under the legendary manager.

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While he admits his time under Mourinho was an important stage of his development, it is clear that Rashford would probably not wish to return to his coaching style in the future. "I think that's when we play our best football (when we can be flexible)," the United winger told BT Sport now TNT Sports in May 2021.

"Under Jose I would say everything was a bit: 'You play there, you play there, you play there'. And yeah, you can do a job, but it was difficult for me to play my best football."

A few months earlier, Rashford had spoken more positively about Mourinho to Sky Sports. "My time under Jose was a massive learning period for me and I feel like I understood football in a different way to what I understood football before that," he explained in February of the same year.

"I learned to win in different ways. It was a tough time in my career, but they’re the moments that either make you or break you.

"His style of coaching might not have been perfect for me - but it definitely made me improve as a player and as a person as well. Coming through the academy, it was always about playing as well as you could play and expressing yourself and go and score as many goals as you can.

"If you can win 6-4, then go out and win 6-4, but under Jose, we learned that 1-0 is the same as 6-4." Rashford will be hoping to express himself further in Istanbul after showing glimpses of a return to form after a difficult 2023/24 season for not just himself but the club too.

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