Chelsea superstar Christian Pulisic rejected Manchester United because of Jose Mourinho, his former coach Robin Walker has claimed.
In an interview with Daily Telegraph, Christian Pulisic’s former coach Robin Walker has claimed that the Chelsea summer arrival turned down Manchester United in favour of joining the Blues because of Jose Mourinho, whom his father cannot stand.
Pulisic first rose to prominence at Borussia Dortmund, having joined their youth setup in 2015. The United States international broke into the first-team setup at Westfalenstadion just a year later, After spending three years with the club, the player went on to agree a deal to join Chelsea earlier this year in January.
Pulisic returned to Dortmund for the remainder of the 2018-19 season before formally arriving at Chelsea this summer. The start to life at Stamford Bridge has been slow for the 20-year-old, with the Blues failing to win any of their first three games thus far.
Pulisic has started two of those games, and having impressed in Chelsea’s UEFA Super Cup defeat to Liverpool, it seems as if he is slowly starting to settle in at the Bridge. But, it now turns out that the USMNT forward could have joined Manchester United instead of the West London club. The 20-year-old though, snubbed United because his father dislikes Jose Mourinho.
Speaking to The Telegraph, the Chelsea superstar’s former coach, Robin Walker said, “I’m a Chelsea fan, I grew up in London supporting them. When I was in Dortmund last year, I told him that he had to come. He wouldn’t go to Manchester United because of Jose Mourinho. His father couldn’t stand Mourinho, because he didn’t promote young players.”
“It was at that point I asked: ‘What about London? That’s where it’s at.’ I was trying to sell the city. His agent agreed, saying: ‘When you make these decisions, it’s all about investment and property.’ I was delighted that he did sign.”
Had Manchester United indeed been interested in Pulisic, they have missed out on a player who could have potentially solved their issues on the right side of the attack. But, the erstwhile presence of Jose Mourinho proved to be detrimental to their chances of signing the Chelsea superstar.
Now at Stamford Bridge, it remains to be seen if Pulisic can continue his development at Chelsea and fill the void left by the departure of Eden Hazard. It will also be interesting to see if Manchester United miss the presence of a player like him in their squad for the season and years to come.
