Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho refuses to rise to Paul Scholes' latest criticism

Jose Mourinho has again refused to engage with Paul Scholes‘ criticism of his Manchester United side, claiming he cannot react to the opinions of the club’s former greats.

Scholes said earlier this week that even Barcelona’s Lionel Messi would struggle to perform well in United’s current side and cast doubt on whether Mourinho would be able to turn the club’s fortunes around.

The former midfielder’s comments followed his criticism of Mourinho before a goalless draw with Valencia earlier this month, when he accused the United manager of “embarrassing” the club.

Mourinho refused to respond to Scholes’ previous criticism, citing “freedom of speech”, despite hitting back him in January for comments regarding Paul Pogba.

At his pre-match press conference to preview Saturday’s trip to Chelsea, Mourinho again evaded the subject of Scholes and shrugged off a question on whether the criticism was affecting his players.

“With [the players] you have to ask them because I don’t ask them,” he said. “I am not asking the players. I work with the players I am not asking them if they read the press or if they are influenced by it I don’t go in that direction.”

On whether he was affected himself, he said: “I can’t react, I have to respect. What do you want me to do? My honest thought is that I don’t comment.”

Scholes, speaking to ESPN, criticised United’s recruitment policy and suggested that Alexis Sanchez, signed from Arsenal last January, had underwhelmed since his arrival.

The 43-year-old also suggested that Mourinho has undermined his scouting department by praising the recruitment work at other clubs, specifically West Ham United’s signing of Issa Diop.

“It feels like every player who comes into the team struggles. I feel like we could sign Lionel Messi at the moment and he’d struggle in this team,” Scholes said.

“I didn’t like the manager praising West Ham’s chief scout after the defeat there and congratulating him on finding Diop. It was a massive dig at his own scouts.

“If you’re a scout at Man United, how can you know what type of player to look for when the manager is changing his team every week and his formation all the time? Where’s the blueprint for the player you want? It must be an impossible job.”