I hated playing Jose Mourinho's Chelsea at Manchester United - they were horrible

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has confessed that he used to dread playing against Chelsea during Jose Mourinho's first spell at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho, who had just won the Champions League with Porto, joined Chelsea in 2004 and quickly made a name for himself as the 'Special One'. During his first spell with the Blues, which lasted until 2007, Mourinho won the Premier League twice and was named the World's Best Coach in 2004.

In a recent interview with TNT Sports, Rooney — who in 2022 claimed that he 'wanted to hurt' Chelsea players so wore longer studs — explained that the early years of Mourinho's reign were particularly tough for him after he signed for United in 2004. «The only team really which I could never win against for a few years was Chelsea,» he said.

«I used to hate going to Stamford Bridge, and it was when Mourinho was there the first time. They were horrible to play against and were solid and organised.

»I always remember thinking: 'I don't know how anyone is going to stop them?' Then obviously we did, but it was always a tough game against them."

After being sacked by Chelsea in 2007, Mourinho went on to win two Serie A titles at Inter Milan including the treble in 2010 before joining Real Madrid in 2010, where he won three trophies including La Liga. The Portuguese left Madrid and spectacularly returned to Chelsea in 2013, winning the Premier League title again in 2015 before being sacked that December.

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In 2016, Mourinho made the unexpected move to United and ended up managing Rooney, leading the team to victory in the Europa League and the League Cup. After being sacked in 2018, Mourinho claimed that United's second-place Premier