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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport

Jose Mourinho reveals why he walked to Old Trafford for Manchester United vs Juventus

Jose Mourinho has revealed he decided to walk to Old Trafford after the Manchester United team bus was stuck in traffic to avoid further punishment from Uefa.

With a crunch Champions League meeting against Juventus at Old Trafford tonight, United wanted to avoid a repeat of the scenes during the last matchday which eventually saw them fined €15,000 (around £13,000) by Uefa for their late arrival and the subsequent delayed kick-off against Valencia.

But with the team bus stranded in heavy traffic, the Portuguese boss was bizarrely spotted by fans on the way to game dressed in an adidas tracksuit walking to the stadium.

When he arrived, Mourinho explained the club were desperate to avoid further sanctions and hinted that he was reason behind his decision to walk.

(Man Utd via Getty Images)

"As you know we changed hotels, the hotel is just around the corner," Mourinho told BT Sport.

"The players were in the bus for 45 minutes and I walk with a hoodie, in the middle of the fans, and nobody recognised me.

"I took two minutes, and what I did in two minutes' walking the players cannot do 45 minutes in a bus.

"Juventus is having the same kind of problem, [so] I informed the Uefa delegate about the situation because we did not want to be punished again."

The United team coach was caught in traffic on its way from the Lowry Hotel to Old Trafford on 2 October, while Mourinho would later claim his side were refused a police escort.

United’s opponents that night were also charged for the late kick-off which came at 8:05pm, as the two sides played out a goalless draw.

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