Henrikh Mkhitaryan singles out ex-Man United manager Jose Mourinho in Roma thank you message

Former Manchester United winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan has thanked Roma boss Jose Mourinho as he bids farewell to the Italian club.

The Portuguese manager had brought the attacker to Old Trafford as United boss in 2016 but the player failed to live up to expectations and they had a strained relationship at times. He subsequently switched to Arsenal before making a permanent move to Roma after a successful loan spell in 2020.

Mkhitaryan has secured now a transfer to Inter Milan, where he will join ex-United striker Romelu Lukaku, who has sealed a loan move back to the San Siro from Chelsea. He netted 29 times in 117 appearances for Roma, lifting the inaugural Europa Conference League last season.

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In his goodbye message to the club, the Armenian thanked Mourinho for his encouragement and “motivation”. Writing on Instagram, he said: “Dear Giallorossi, Roma is a truly unique club.

“From the day I made it all the way to the Conference League Final and beyond, your support has been outstanding and I will always be very proud of it.

“When I wore this shirt for the first time, I had a goal: to make this club win and to make its fantastic fans happy: goal achieved in Tirana! This triumph was the perfect conclusion to my three years in the Giallorossi. Now it's time to say goodbye.”

He continued: “I want to thank all the people who work in the club for the special relationship built together over the years. A huge thank you to our technical staff and in particular to Mr. Mourinho for his trust and attention towards me and for the extraordinary motivations he gave me as a player.

“I gave my all for Roma on and off the pitch. It was a great honour to play here and I