'United didn't evolve under Moyes or Van Gaal'

Manchester United have struggled to replicate the success that saw them become Premier League giants under Six Alex Ferguson, and have not added to their 20 top-flight titles since his departure in 2013.

Ferguson's successor David Moyes was sacked after just 10 months at the helm and early promise under Louis Van Gaal came to very little, although the Dutchman did end his reign with an FA Cup trophy.

On Saturday, Van Gaal criticised United over his sacking, accusing the club of going behind his back.

Mourinho, who won the League Cup and Europa League in his first season at Old Trafford, believes he took over a side which were burdened by past successes.

He told the Sunday Times: "There was an evolution in the other clubs; there was no evolution in this club. In all the areas that make a team successful, I think we stopped in time.

"That was quite an empty period in the club with no evolution in areas that are important. It was the weight of the past on the shoulders of the players, managers, even boards, even probably owners, because when you are used to 'win and win and win', and suddenly you stop, it's like a heavy burden.

"Today, we have better working conditions, a better medical department, a better analysis department, a better scouting department, a better media department, and in many cases we did it without changing the people, which is quite important."

The former Chelsea boss has added Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic to his squad this summer, both are players he has worked with previously at Stamford Bridge. 

"Lukaku was my player as a kid," said the former Real Madrid boss.

"He left [Chelsea] because he was thinking he deserves more opportunity, but he's such a good guy that during these years we were in close contact with a good relationship. So I knew he was an intelligent guy with a positive attitude."

On Matic, Mourinho added: "I cannot say that I had better guys than him in my career."