Revealed: Jose Mourinho aimed brutal James Corden dig at Luke Shaw over his weight during Man Utd's 2018 U.S. pre-season tour - and secretly told reporters he 'would do everything' to sell Anthony Martial

Portuguese tactician Mourinho was appointed by United in the summer of 2016 as they sought to recapture the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson. Reins were handed to a proven winner that had previously savoured domestic and continental success with Porto, Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid.

Mourinho did oversee Community Shield, League Cup and Europa League triumphs at Old Trafford, but was unceremoniously sacked in December 2018. He had ruffled plenty of feathers by that point, with the Daily Mail lifting the lid on his eventful tenure in their ‘UNTOLD UNITED’ dossier.

An Old Trafford source has said that there “was a compromise about hiring Jose”. They added: “He tightens the group and breeds paranoia. Some players get broken and kicked out. But the idea with Jose was we would swallow the pill, put up with the chaos and at the same time get this monkey off our back and win the league. But it didn’t work. Again.”

On the reasons for Mourinho’s reign ultimately imploding, the Mail claim that “inadequate recruitment, problems with individual players and a rotten dressing-room culture” made it “impossible to reset” and led to “chaos”.

Former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward “thought he knew what he was getting” with Mourinho , but “he was wrong”. An established member of United’s in-house media team is said to have described every interview with the ‘Special One’ as “like talking to someone in a hostage cell”.

It is claimed that watching Mourinho in Manchester was akin to seeing “a once great coach railing against the dying of the managerial light. Jose was at war with everything, including the club”.

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He often “took matters into his own hands” and had no issue with rattling a few cages. During a tour of the United States in 2018 he told a press conference that there was no guarantee that France international Martial would be allowed to leave. He is then said to have left the room and “secretly summoned three reporters to tell us that he would do everything he could to sell the Frenchman”.

Mourinho also endured a “toxic relationship” with Paul Pogba - a player he made the most expensive player in world football when sanctioning an £89 million ($119m) transfer from Juventus. Insiders have compared a butting of heads there to “Fergie’s fallout with David Beckham. Their disputes were extraordinary and public”.

Mourinho “instigated” his infamous training ground clash with Pogba “once he knew the Sky cameras were rolling”. Pogba was subsequently dropped as his manager referred to replacement Scott McTominay as having “a normal haircut, no tattoos, no big cars, no big watches, humble kid”.

Shaw was also targeted by his outspoken manager, with it reported that while heading back to base on golf buggies during a session in Los Angeles, Mourinho pointed in the direction of his left-back and quipped: “I will have to go with James Corden.”

Sources at Carrington add that Mourinho would “would smile at you one minute and blank you the next”. United executives were left “horrified” when their head coach chose to “wear a hoodie underneath his club blazer rather than a shirt and tie at a public ceremony, attended by Munich survivors Sir Bobby Charlton and Harry Gregg, to mark the 60th anniversary of the disaster”.

Mourinho ended up leaving under a cloud, with United’s wait for a Premier League extended, and “great ally” Ferguson - who was fully supportive of the Portuguese’s initial appointment - “could hardly speak his name” by the time a parting of ways was agreed.