Ander Herrera has revealed that Jose Mourinho told Manchester United’s players that all they could do was win the Europa League final in the wake of Monday night’s attack in Manchester.
Twenty-two people were killed by a suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena.
The Europa League final went ahead, with Manchester United claiming a 2-0 win over Ajax at the Friends Arena in Stockholm on Wednesday night to win the trophy and book their place in next season’s Champions League.
Herrera admitted that it was incredibly difficult circumstances for the Manchester United players but revealed that Mourinho had offered them some words of encouragement before the game.
Speaking at a post-match news conference after being named man of the match, Herrera said: “On Monday morning we were devastated. We were really sad because when you think about life and football, there is no choice.
“It was really difficult for us to train yesterday.
“The manager told us that the only thing we could do was to win this for them and that’s what we’ve done. It’s just a trophy but if we can support them with just one per cent, we will.”
He continued: “I want to dedicate the trophy to the victims. This is just football but what happened two days ago was horrible.
“We want peace in the world. We want respect. I know we are just football players, but I want to say to everyone to work together for a normal world. We have to be a united world and to fight for peace. No more attacks and no more deaths, please.”
Manchester United finished in sixth place in the Premier League in Mourinho’s first campaign at Old Trafford following his appointment last summer.