Man Utd ace Lindelof reveals he ‘misses’ Mourinho scolding him after beating Ibrahimovic to Sweden’s Gold Ball award
VICTOR LINDELOF has admitted to “missing” having Jose Mourinho at Manchester United – even when he gets being told off by the Portuguese coach.
Mourinho brought the Swedish defender to Old Trafford in 2017 and led them to a second place finish in the Premier League.
However after 18 months working with Lindelof, the boss was sacked and replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Remaining a first-choice centre-back under the Norwegian, Lindelof’s strong form saw him named Sweden’s Footballer of the Year, the Guldbollen, on Tuesday.
Also impressing this year were Alexandar Isak, Andreas Granqvist and 11-time winner Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
But the victor spoke after collecting the trophy about his joy in playing under Mourinho.
Lindelof even admitted to appreciating his old boss’ criticism.
Speaking to Aftonbladet, he said: “He is, after all, one of the world’s best coaches and he is supposed to have a job at one of the biggest clubs.
“I miss him in football. He’s a great coach and a great person, whom I owe a great deal.
“It was he who gave me the chance here, who brought me into everything.
“I have all the respect in the world for him and appreciate everything he has said and done for me, from scolding to a hug.
“Even if I did not agree, at the time… he has very great charisma, you had great respect for him.
“He’s won everything. When he says something, you listen.”
That all being said, he may not have appreciated Mourinho’s comments about trying to buy a centre-back in 2018 even though he signed Lindelof from Benfica a year earlier.
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He told Sky Sports earlier in the season: “I was not an idiot when in the last pre-season I was crying for a central defender.”
Furthermore, Mourinho was far from kind when discussing the defender’s difficulties in dealing with physical attackers.
He noted: “Lindelof is very good in some aspects of the game but he can be bullied in the one vs one and he’s not especially good in the air.”