Jose Mourinho fires Man United Foundation ball boys

Manchester United have changed their ball boys at the behest of Jose Mourinho, writes Stephen Barry.

It’s been reported that the Portuguese manager, a frequent critic of ball boys in the past, decided that those provided by the Manchester United Foundation weren’t of sufficient quality in their timing or delivery when returning the ball.

Mourinho instead brought in members of the United Academy’s Under-16 team for last week’s game against Liverpool. He coached them on how best to return the ball and when to speed up the process when United were on the attack or against the clock.

“The manager wasn’t happy with what was on offer before from the ball boys and girls. He wanted a much slicker operation — especially when United are on the attack or time is running out,” a club insider told the Mirror.

“Of course, people may speculate whether opponents are given the same courtesy if they are on the attack or chasing the game.”

A United official confirmed the change to the paper.

Mourinho has previously criticised opposition ball boys for slowing play down or disappearing when their team was leading.

In 2014, the then Chelsea manager confronted a Crystal Palace ball boy for not returning the ball quickly enough to Cesar Azpilicueta.