Jose Mourinho has defended Manchester United’s decision to hand Jesse Lingard a new deal worth up to £100,000-a-week.
The England winger would have been out of contract at the end of next season, but the generous terms of the four-year agreement have caused surprise in some quarters.
However, Mourinho believes that United would have been criticised for losing a homegrown England international who has been at the club since the age of seven.
‘First of all, if you don’t pay, they go,’ said the United manager.