"THE LEAST HE COULD DO": JOSE MOURINHO DEMANDS MCTOMINAY'S SHIRT ON LIVE TV

Jose Mourinho provided classic entertainment, revealing he demanded Scott McTominay's shirt because he gave him his debut—a debut that paved the way for his Serie A MVP status.

"The Least He Could Do": Jose Mourinho Demands McTominay's Shirt on Live TV
Mourinho Claims Shirt From McTominay

Jose Mourinho revealed the funny story behind him getting Scott McTominay's shirt after the Champions League game between Benfica and Napoli. Benfica won 2-0 with goals from Richard Rios and Leandro Barreiro. Mourinho joked with reporters, showing them McTominay's shirt from a bag he brought to the press conference.

Thanks to an old player

McTominay, who's now doing well in Serie A, got his start thanks to Mourinho, who gave him his debut at Manchester United nearly ten years ago. Mourinho first played him in May 2017 against Arsenal and then started him against Crystal Palace. McTominay quickly became a regular player in midfield during the 2017–18 season, sometimes even playing instead of Paul Pogba. Mourinho left Old Trafford in 2018, but McTominay played over 250 games for the club.

Mourinho entertains in the press room

Mourinho is known for making press conferences interesting, and this one was no different. Benfica's players were celebrating their big win, which keeps their hopes in Europe alive. Mourinho walked in with a bag, making the reporters curious. When someone asked if he was giving out gifts, Mourinho used his usual dry humour.

"The bag is mine," Mourinho said. It's Scott McTominay's shirt. I was the one who gave him a chance; I even benched Paul Pogba for him. The least he could do was give me his shirt.

After some ups and downs in Manchester, McTominay turned things around by moving to Napoli in 2024. He helped them win the league, played great in midfield, and scored 13 goals. He even finished 18th in the 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings and was named the 2025 Serie A Player of the Year, the first Scottish player to get that award.

Benfica wins

Mourinho was happy about Benfica's win. The two-goal victory over Napoli was one of their best games in Europe this season, and he wanted to talk about how important it was.

He said, We deserved to win. We played a great match. Some people might say Napoli weren't at their best, but I don't agree. Benfica did great, controlling the game the whole time. It's great for us to beat Napoli like this and still have a chance in this competition.

He continued, We have six points. Benfica lost at home to Qarabag early on. If we hadn't, we'd have nine points and be close to qualifying. The schedule is tough, but that loss put us in a difficult spot right away. It was important to win today, or we would have been out.

Pressure at home

Benfica's situation in the league isn't as good. They're third, eight points behind Porto. With pressure from fans and a tough schedule in December, they can't afford to make any more mistakes if they want to win the title. They need to keep up their performance when they play Moreirense on Sunday. After recent stumbles in the league, Benfica needs to avoid another bad game if they want to stay close to Porto and Sporting in the title race.

ARSENAL POCKET INSANE £125.18M FOLLOWING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL QUALIFICATION

Mikel Arteta's side has added £15.97m to their cash reserves, eclipsing the total earned by current champions PSG last year.

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Arsenal Bag Extra £15.9m Prize Money After Historic Champions League Semifinal - Photo Credit: PA

Arsenal have added another £15.97 million to their UEFA prize money haul after securing a spot in the Champions League final with a win against Atletico Madrid. They are set to face either Bayern Munich or the current champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in Budapest on May 30, aiming for their first-ever triumph in this prestigious competition.

Beyond that, there’s an additional £5.61 million up for grabs in Hungary later this month. But up to now, Arsenal have amassed an eye-watering £125.18 million in Champions League prize money this season alone. A place in next season’s European Super Cup also carries a potential reward of around £3.45 million. It’s been a remarkable European run under Mikel Arteta, with the team dominating the group stage by winning all eight matches.

From the very beginning, the club benefited from the initial distribution of TV revenue and the rankings pool, which together amounted to £49.6 million. Even before the knockout rounds kicked off, Arsenal had already secured £85.3 million in prize money.

That total doesn’t even cover the bonuses linked to their on-field success, as each of their eight victories in the group stage brought in roughly £15.8 million altogether.

By finishing first out of 36 group-phase clubs, Arsenal earned an extra £8.6 million, and progressing straight to the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams secured them another £11.3 million.

They continued their strong run by eliminating Bayer Leverkusen after a 1-1 draw away and a 2-0 win at the Emirates, which added £10.8 million more to their earnings.

Overcoming Sporting CP in the quarter-finals also brought a £10.8 million bonus. While Arsenal’s motivation isn’t just financial, this level of income certainly aids in meeting profit and sustainability rules and other financial fair play criteria.

It’s also likely to support their summer transfer budget, as sporting director Andrea Berta looks to build on Arteta’s squad.

Last season, Arsenal took home £98.63 million after reaching the semi-finals before falling to PSG.

PSG, who went on to win the title, collected about £124.62 million last year, so Arsenal have now already surpassed that figure.

Meanwhile, UEFA has set aside a record £2.13 billion in prize money for the 2025-26 Champions League season, highlighting the competition’s growing financial stakes.

JAN OBLAK CONFESSES ATLETICO WERE "AFRAID TO PLAY" AGAINST ARSENAL

Following their Champions League exit, skipper Jan Oblak analysed where Atletico went wrong and paid tribute to Griezmann.

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Oblak Demands Mentality Shift At Atletico After Crashing Out To Arsenal - Photo Credit: Getty Images

Jan Oblak didn’t hold back after Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Champions League against Arsenal. He said straight up that the team just didn’t do enough to earn a spot in the final. Sure, he’s proud of how far the squad has come recently, but the way they went out still stings.

Oblak was pretty open about where things went wrong, especially after the first leg, when Atletico failed to take an advantage back to London. “I'm disappointed, just like all the fans. Honestly, I can’t find the words. We didn’t do enough to be in the final, and it’s just a tough moment. We had our chances to win, but we didn’t take them. All that’s left is to congratulate Arsenal.”

He didn’t stop there, either. Speaking to CBS Golazo, Oblak was even more direct about the team’s mentality, especially in the first half of both matches. He felt Atletico were hesitant, too respectful of Arsenal, and afraid to play. Both times, they fell behind before halftime and then tried to play catch-up, but it was always a little too late. “This has happened several times this season,” Oblak said, “and while we’ve managed to win those games before, not today when it mattered most.”

On the flip side, Oblak did give some credit to the young players and the growth the team’s shown, especially after a couple of big summers that saw a huge part of the squad change. “The last two seasons, we’ve switched out something like 15 players. A lot of young guys with not much experience came in. They did great in the cup, and they’ve held up in the Champions League too. In the league, we weren’t good enough for the biggest matches, but I’m proud of how the younger ones are growing. Still, when the goal is to win a title, and you don’t, you can’t call it a success. All we can do is look forward and hope we’ll be fighting for trophies next season.”

Saying goodbye to Antoine Griezmann made this exit even sadder for Oblak and the rest of the squad. Griezmann’s heading to Orlando City this summer, bringing the curtain down on his Champions League career with Atletico. “Everyone’s going to miss Griezi; he’s an incredible player and a great guy. The kind of person who’s always smiling, always positive, and does things on the pitch nobody else can. We’ll miss him a lot; the fans will miss him, but he deserves nothing but the best wherever he goes.”

At 33, Oblak is one of Atletico’s true leaders, right behind Koke for the captain’s armband. Alongside Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente, he’s been a

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