Rio Ferdinand has issued an apology to Jose Mourinho for criticising a quote he gave about Manchester United in 2019, which he believes has "aged so well".
Mourinho's two-and-a-half-year reign at Old Trafford came to an end in December 2018 as he paid the price for the Red Devils' poor start to the season.
The Portuguese manager failed to build on a runners-up Premier League finish in 2017-18, which he controversially described as one of the best achievements of his illustrious career shortly after his sacking.
What has Ferdinand said about Mourinho's remarks?
Mourinho suggested that "people don't know what is going on behind the scenes" at Old Trafford, drawing criticism from a number of ex-players and pundits, including Ferdinand.
The United legend has now admitted he "judged" the 59-year-old too harshly, however, as he believes that his comments have proven accurate following the club's disastrous 2021-22 campaign.
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"I think Jose Mourinho's quote has aged so, so well. And me for one, I would apologise maybe to some extent in terms of the way you kind of looked at him and judged him," Ferdinand said on his FIVE YouTube channel.
"I still think there were flaws in some of the ways he handled people and handled some of the situations that he was involved in. But in terms of looking behind the scenes, that [quote] he said in 2019 on finishing second in the Premier League, that has aged so well.
"We can see that there’s been stuff going on that’s wrong behind the scenes, but at that time we didn’t know the extent of it. Obviously Jose Mourinho did.
"He wanted to get rid of numerous players and he wanted to bring in certain players, and obviously big wages and contracts were handed out to certain players and he’s thinking, 'Woah, woah, woah, what’s going on?!'"
What else did Mourinho achieve at United?
Mourinho initially arrived at United in the summer of 2016 as he was drafted in to replace Louis van Gaal with the task of reviving the glory days under Sir Alex Ferguson.
The divisive head coach, who is now taking in a spell on the touchline at Roma, delivered Community Shield, Europa League and League Cup honours in his first season in Manchester.
The Red Devils haven't won any silverware since then, and are now preparing to welcome their fifth permanent manager in the last nine years with Ajax's Erik ten Hag set to replace interim boss Ralf Rangnick this summer.
