Angel Gomes has opened up on how Jose Mourinho nearly made him cry after giving the Manchester United academy graduate a dressing down in front of his teammates.
Gomes became United’s youngest player in the Premier League era when Mourinho handed him his debut aged just 16 on the final day of the 2016-17 season.
But Gomes told the Times that he was close to tears shortly after that initial show of faith from Mourinho, as the Portuguese boss voiced his displeasure at his performance in a reserve match.
Gomes told the Times: “He didn’t think I had played up to standard [in a reserves match] to warrant a place in the first-team squad, and he just really let me know. At the time I was thinking, ‘Why has he done that in front of everyone? Could he not have pulled me to the side?’
“A few of the players came up to me and said, ‘He just wants a reaction from you, don’t let it faze you’, but in that moment I didn’t want to hear anything.
“I rushed to my room and rang my dad and my brother. There’s not much they could say to me really. I was almost crying. I was really young.
“It wasn’t until I was older that I realised, with Mourinho, he’s always looking at ways to get more out of you. I think him doing that in front of everyone showed he valued me as a player. I probably needed it.”
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Gomes ended up playing just 320 minutes for United despite high expectations, making just nine further appearances after his debut.
He was eventually allowed to leave on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s watch, moving to Lille at the end of his contract in 2020 despite interest from United in offering Gomes an extension.
The midfielder felt there was no clear plan put in place for his development at Old Trafford and moved in search of more game time.
He continued: “It was the most difficult period of my career. On the pitch, off the pitch, I didn’t know what was going on. I spoke to [Solskjaer].
“I spoke to the assistants as well because [assistant manager] Kieran McKenna had been my under-18s coach. It just felt like they wanted me to stay and go with the flow. They wanted me to go on loan but there wasn’t really much in place.
“I felt that after being there my whole life in the academy, there would have been more of a plan for me to progress. That was the hardest pill to swallow. In the last six months, I just wanted it to end really.”
Gomes has made 123 appearances for Lille, with his impressive displays leading Lee Carsley to hand him his senior England debut last month and drawing the attention of several Premier League clubs.
