Gary Lineker disclosed an unusual conflict with Jose Mourinho, which originated when the former Manchester United manager reprimanded Ed Woodward for conversing with the television presenter.
The Match of the Day host shared that Mourinho declined to accept a GQ magazine award from him in 2015.
Despite having a generally positive relationship, as evidenced by Mourinho praising Lineker’s Match of the Day coverage through text messages, their estrangement intensified for reasons undisclosed to the former England international.
Speaking to The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker opened up: “I remember when he first came; he had this incredible personality, was really engaging and I thought he was witty and funny. I think the game has beaten him up a little over the years. I did a little documentary with him, he used to text me all the time, he used to text me after Match of the Day, saying, ‘you guys understand it, this is great.’ We had been going along like that for two years and then something changed.
“I was asked to present him with the Man of the Year award at the GQ Awards that they do every year. They asked me to present the trophy and I said, ‘yes, I’ll do that for Jose, of course.’ Then, about four days before the event, they got in touch and said, ‘Jose has got in touch and he doesn’t want you to present the trophy to him; he wants someone that’s not in football.’
“I thought, ‘hmmm, that’s a bit odd, but I thought I’ll go along to the event anyway and I went up to Jose and he kind of blanked me. I went, ‘Are we ok? Are we ok, Jose?’ ‘He went, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.’ But he wasn’t okay, and he’s never been OK since.”
Alan Shearer and Micah Richards were bemused to hear the incident and asked what led to the bitterness. Lineker then went on to narrate another awkward encounter at Old Trafford following a Champions League game during Mourinho’s tenure at Manchester United, involving former United chief Ed Woodward.
“I do not know to this day whether it was something I said on Match of the Day; I genuinely have no idea. I interviewed him subsequently and he was very cold,” he said.
“I remember doing a Champions League game, which they didn’t do very well in. I went up to the director’s box at Manchester United and I was having a drink with Ed Woodward; he’s a neighbour of mine so I know him really well.
“I’m standing there having a drink and Jose comes up but then he just wandered off. He sent a text to Ed Woodward, ‘why are you talking to him?’ To this day, I don’t know what I did! It is a long time ago that this happened but I don’t know what happened.”
Mourinho is recognised for his outspoken and maverick personality, unafraid to express himself openly. On some occasions, he tends to push the boundaries, and in a recent development, he faced expulsion from the stands twice within a week. These incidents occurred during Roma’s matches against Atalanta in Serie A and Lazio in the Coppa Italia.
Roma is currently experiencing a period of poor form, having won only one match in their last five outings, which places them in the eighth position in the top-flight standings. The challenges are set to continue as they face AC Milan in their upcoming fixture at San Siro on Sunday.
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