Jose Mourinho will bring the good times back to Manchester United, says Chelsea’s Asmir Begovic

1/14
James Olley24 May 2016

EXCLUSIVE

Asmir Begovic today admitted it will be “weird” for Chelsea to play against Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United next season but backed the Portuguese to be a success at Old Trafford.

Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes is due in England today for talks as United seek to replace Louis van Gaal, who was sacked yesterday less than 48 hours after lifting the FA Cup.

The Portuguese had two spells in charge at Stamford Bridge with the latest ending in acrimony after Chelsea sacked him last December citing “palpable discord” between Mourinho and his players.

However, Begovic, who Mourinho signed for £8million from Stoke last summer, believes his former boss remains one of the best in world football despite the events of last season. “He is probably one of the best managers in the world and I don’t see anything other than success happening at United,” Begovic told Standard Sport. “Hopefully we will be ahead of them but I am sure he will bring very good times for them.

“He has a big affinity to Chelsea, a good relationship with the fans and the people at the club. It’ll be weird to see him at United but that’s the way the world goes. Football is a better place with him than without so it is good.

“But it’ll be a big challenge for us. A lot of teams will be very strong next year and I’m sure United will be stronger with him at the helm.”

Chelsea were bolstered in their efforts to recover from a disappointing campaign by confirmation captain John Terry will stay next season after agreeing a one-year contract extension.

And Begovic believes the 35-year-old is still capable of playing a prominent role under new boss Antonio Conte.

Mourinho at Old Trafford Photo: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty
PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images

“It was good that John’s contract situation came to a conclusion,” he said. “He is a great guy to have around. He is a legend at the club and he means a lot to everyone around the place.

“He contributes in the dressing room as a leader and also out on the pitch. It is great that he is staying and there is no reason why he couldn’t contribute quite a bit for us next year.”

The Asmir Begovic Foundation helps in areas of need for Children to build and rebuild recreational facilities.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in