Jose Mourinho was closing in on becoming Manchester United's new
manager on Tuesday despite club great Eric Cantona saying incoming
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola would have been a better pick.
Mourinho's agent Jorge Mendes was in talks with United's executive
vice-chairman Ed Woodward, British media reported, less than 24 hours
after Louis van Gaal's troubled two-year reign came to a sour end.
Former Chelsea boss Mourinho, one of football's most intriguing
characters, would march into Old Trafford boasting a personal trophy
haul that includes three English Premier League titles and two Champions
League crowns.
But Cantona, whose goals helped fire United to four Premier League
titles in the 1990s, said the defensive-minded Portuguese was the wrong
man for the job, in an unexpected and incendiary intervention.
"Guardiola was the one to take," the Frenchman told The Guardian newspaper.
"He is the only one to change Manchester (United). He is in Manchester, but at the wrong one."
Cantona's comments will only inflame the personal rancour between Mourinho and Guardiola.
Mourinho would arrive at Manchester United just as Guardiola joins
their bitter rivals Manchester City from Bayern Munich, for his first
taste of the Premier League.
When Mourinho was in charge of Real Madrid and Guardiola running
their sworn enemy Barcelona, the Portuguese never missed an opportunity
to take a swipe at the Spaniard.
However, Mourinho won just three of their 16 meetings.
- Cantona kicks out -
"I love Jose Mourinho, but in terms of the type of football he plays I
don't think he is Manchester United," said Cantona, who turned 50 on
Tuesday.
"I love his personality, I love the passion he has for the game, his
humour. He is very intelligent, he demands 100 percent of his players.
And of course he wins things.
But I don't think it's the type of football that the fans of Manchester United will love, even if they win."
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