Jose Mourinho is angry that Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini did not make more of an effort to play in the FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea.
Lukaku was a Manchester United substitute at Wembley after telling Mourinho that he was not fit to start following an ankle injury.
United’s top scorer was confident he would make the starting XI until doubts crept in a week before the Cup final.
Fellaini has missed the last three games of the season with a muscle strain and was not in the squad, even though sources close to the player claimed he would be available.
Mourinho is said to suspect that both players were protecting themselves so they would be fit for the World Cup.
‘When a player tells you he is not ready to start, then the question is how many minutes do you think you can play,’ said Mourinho when asked about Lukaku afterwards. ‘How can I convince a player who tells me he is not ready to play?’
Mourinho, who it is believed did not address his team after the Wembley defeat, feels it sums up a weak mentality in his squad.
It is understood Eric Bailly has been largely frozen out since returning from ankle surgery because he missed the defeat to West Brom last month through illness and reported fit for training the next day.
Fellaini’s future remains uncertain as he nears the end of his contract next month. United are preparing an offer, but AC Milan are understood to have tabled a three-year deal.
AC Milan’s sporting director Massimiliano Mirabelli said: ‘Fellaini is an important player. We know that he is not renewing his contract with Manchester United, but it is difficult to say if we have closed it.’
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