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Manchester Evening News
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Dan Brown

The 15 players sold by Jose Mourinho at Manchester United and where they are now

It's been a summer of change at Manchester United following the appointment of Erik ten Hag, with plenty of players heading for pastures new.

It remains to be seen whether the Reds boss will move any of his stars on in January, but one thing is for sure, it will take him some time to reach the total of 15 players offloaded on permanent deals by Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho, who was in charge of United from 2016 to 2018, remains the last manager to win silverware for the Reds. The Portuguese coach allowed a number of high-profile players to leave the club during his reign.

ALSO READ: Jose Mourinho equals Sir Alex Ferguson record

Here, we take a look at the 15 senior players who left the club during Mourinho's stint as United manager.

Tyler Blackett

Blackett, who conceded a penalty and was sent off in a 5-3 defeat at Leicester City two seasons before Mourinho arrived at Old Trafford, struggled to feature under the self-proclaimed 'Special One'.

He joined Reading in 2016 before moving to Nottingham Forest. The defender left Forest in August last year and signed for American side Cincinnati.

Sold: August 2016 to Reading (£1.62m)

Daley Blind

Blind was somewhat of a fans' favourite at Old Trafford and was definitely one of Louis Van Gaal's better signings. However, he was moved on by Mourinho in 2018 after making 141 appearances for the Reds.

Since leaving United, he has enjoyed success with Ajax - winning several trophies as the Eredivisie outfit continue to dominate Dutch football.

After suffering a health scare at the back end of 2019, he has continued to feature regularly for the Amsterdam club.

Sold: July 2018 to Ajax (£14.4m)

Memphis Depay

To this day, many United fans will still say that the Reds should have kept hold of the Dutch attacker - despite Depay scoring just seven goals for the club.

Mourinho sold him to Lyon in January 2017, with the forward later joining Barcelona in 2021. However, he has fallen down the pecking order at the Catalan club and was linked with a move away in the summer.

Sold: January 2017 to Lyon (£14.4m)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The Swedish striker helped United win the Carabao Cup and the Europa League in 2017, but a serious knee injury ended his campaign early and he was not the same player when he returned the following season.

Ibrahimovic left Old Trafford and joined LA Galaxy in March 2018. In 2020, he re-joined Italian giants AC Milan and helped them secure the Serie A title last season ahead of city rivals Inter.

Sold: March 2018 to LA Galaxy (free transfer)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic spent just over a year-and-a-half at Manchester United (Getty Images)

Adnan Januzaj

Januzaj, who broke into the first team under David Moyes, had all the quality needed to become a United great. However, the Belgian failed to kick on after a promising start to his Reds career.

Mourinho sold him to Real Sociedad in the summer of 2017, where he went on to make over 150 appearances. The 27-year-old signed for Sevilla earlier this summer.

Sold: July 2017 to Real Sociedad (£7.65m)

Sam Johnstone

The goalkeeper was sent out on loan on several occasions during his time at United, before leaving the club on a permanent deal in 2018.

Johnstone joined West Bromwich Albion, where he went on to establish himself as a Premier League shot-stopper. The 29-year-old, who has played three times for England, joined Crystal Palace in July 2022.

Sold: July 2018 to West Brom (£6.62m)

Will Keane

Keane was famously in line to play ahead of Marcus Rashford against FC Midtjylland in 2016 before breaking down with injury - with injuries preventing his United career from taking off.

He joined Hull in 2016 and then moved to Ipswich Town, before joining Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2020.

Sold: August 2016 to Hull City (£1.08m)

Paddy McNair

McNair was used in defence at the start of Van Gaal's first season in charge but was offloaded soon after Mourinho arrived at Old Trafford, with Sunderland swooping for both him and fellow youngster Donald Love.

He left Sunderland in 2018 to join Middlesbrough and is now a key member of the Championship side's squad.

Sold: August 2016 to Sunderland (£4.73m)

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Man United signed Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund in 2016, but he failed to impress and was later involved in a swap deal with Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal.

Sanchez was awful for United but Mkhitaryan was equally poor for Arsenal. The Armenia international is now playing in Italy with Inter Milan - signing for the club from Roma earlier this summer.

Sold: January 2018 to Arsenal (£30.6m)

Nick Powell

Powell, who arrived at Old Trafford from Crewe under Sir Alex Ferguson, failed to make the grade at United and was sent out on loan on a number of occasions. He left on a permanent deal in 2016, joining Wigan Athletic.

He later joined Stoke from Wigan and is a regular in their team these days - registering 24 goals and 10 assists in all competitions for the Potters since signing for the club.

Sold: July 2016 to Wigan Athletic (free transfer)

Wayne Rooney

Mourinho sold the United legend to Everton in 2017, with Rooney joining D.C. United a year later. The former England international then signed for Derby County at the start of 2020.

He joined the Rams as player-coach but was eventually promoted to manager following the departure of Phillip Cocu.

Rooney received plenty of plaudits for the work done with the club in their battle to avoid the drop last season after they went into administration. The Derbyshire outfit were handed a points deduction for entering administration, which was followed by another points deduction for breaching EFL accounting rules.

United's record goalscorer left the Rams in June and is currently the manager of D.C. United in MLS.

Sold: July 2017 to Everton (free transfer)

Wayne Rooney was a crucial part of Manchester United's domination of the Premier League in the noughties which saw the team win five Premier League titles. ((Photo credit by ANDREW YATES/AFP via Getty Images))

Morgan Schneiderlin

The French midfielder was excellent for Southampton during the 2014-15 season but failed to deliver at Old Trafford - which led to him being moved on by the Portuguese coach.

United received over £20million for him as he joined Everton in 2017, with Schneiderlin remaining at Goodison Park until 2020. He is now plying his trade back in his native France with Nice.

Sold: January 2017 to Everton (£20.7m)

Bastian Schweinsteiger

It didn't take Mourinho long to decide that Schweinsteiger was not part of his plans at United. While the midfielder showed glimpses of his quality after arriving in 2015, he probably joined the club a few years too late.

The German left United in March 2017 to join Chicago Fire, where he remained until his retirement in October 2019.

Sold: March 2017 to Chicago Fire (free transfer)

Victor Valdes

Given that Mourinho clashed with Valdes after his Inter Milan side knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League in 2010, it was unsurprising to see the Spanish goalkeeper leave United soon after the 'Special One' arrived at Old Trafford.

Valdes spent the 2016-17 season at Middlesbrough and retired at the end of that campaign. He was named manager of UA Horta in May 2020, but left in January 2021 in order to 'focus' on Joan Laporta's presidential project.

Sold: July 2016 to Middlesbrough (free transfer)

Guillermo Varela

Varela left United for Penarol in August 2017, before moving to FC Copenhagen. He faced United in the Europa League knockout stages, but wasn't able to show the Reds that they were wrong to let him go.

He currently plays for Flamengo, on loan from Dynamo Moscow.

Sold: August 2017 to Penarol (free transfer)

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