Scott McTominay was given his Manchester United debut by Jose Mourinho, who has since praised the midfielder
Jose Mourinho gave Scott McTominay his Manchester United debut(Image: BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
Scott McTominay made a lasting impression on Jose Mourinho at Manchester United. The pair are set to be reunited tonight as Mourinho’s Benfica host Napoli in the Champions League.
The 2017/18 season marked a breakthrough campaign for McTominay, who made 23 appearances in all competitions under Mourinho. The young midfielder was even named Manager’s Player of the Year after the United boss learned that McTominay had missed out on other end-of-season awards.
The Scotland international has thrived in a more advanced midfield role since leaving Old Trafford for Napoli last summer. However, Mourinho would have needed no convincing that his former player would be a success elsewhere, affectionately describing him as “my boy” and admitting that he was one of his favourite players to work with.
“The players that I most enjoyed [coaching] were the ones that gave me everything,” Mourinho told Rio Ferdinand Presents in 2024. “Everything. The ones that I felt they couldn’t give anything more than what they gave, these are my players.
“Then if you want to, kind of, preferred… I don’t want to be unfair to people and I will be unfair but when you play a kid, the kid becomes your kid for life. That is always my feeling.
“So I look to Raphael Varane [at Real Madrid] now at the end of his career, he is my kid. When I look to Scott McTominay, [Paul] Pogba on the bench, play Scott McTominay in Champions League against Sevilla, he is my boy. When I go club to club, I find my boys, and they are always going to be my boys.”
Moiurinho gave McTominay the Manager’s Player of the Year award in 2018(Image: John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
It appears that the feeling between the pair was mutual. Although Mourinho would leave the club at the end of 2018 after a poor start to the season, McTominay cherished the United manager’s advice.
“Jose Mourinho has been absolutely incredible to me this year. He’s helped me so much in terms of what I can do, from being more humble, to being better on the training pitch and just being a better person in general,” McTominay told United’s club website.
“When I first came into the group he said, ‘The players have to like you,’ and it’s one of the most important things going into a new dressing room, that you are a likeable person and you get on with everybody.
“That has stood me in good stead. It’s important to be liked on the pitch. It’s the manager having the faith to play me that’s been incredible and I can’t thank him enough.”
McTominay has scored 18 goals in 55 games for Napoli(Image: Ivan Romano/Getty Images)
While McTominay went on to make 255 appearances for his boyhood club, scoring some important goals, it was not until his move to Italy that the midfielder began to play his best football. In his first season under Antonio Conte, he won the Serie A title and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player, leaving United to wonder what could have been.
However, McTominay has no regrets about his decision. At the Gran Gala del Calcio awards, where he won the Serie A Player of the Year, McTominay said: “Coming to Napoli was an easy choice, I came to the right place.”
He added: “It’s sensational, it’s incredible to be here and win this award. Thank you to everyone, the team, the staff, and my team-mates. My bond with Napoli is special, there are so many special places here.”
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