Paddy McNair: 'I forced Manchester United exit'

Paddy McNair has claimed that he went against Jose Mourinho's wishes in leaving Manchester United last summer.

The Northern Ireland international joined Sunderland from Man United in a £5.5m move before the start of the 2016-17 campaign after struggling to establish himself at Old Trafford.

McNair, however, has revealed that new Red Devils boss Mourinho wanted him to leave on loan rather than on a permanent deal, which was something that the 21-year-old was not prepared to consider.

"He wanted me to go on loan and I went in to see Jose and just said 'look, if you don't let me go on a permanent, I'm just going to stay here'," McNair told BBC Sport.

"That's how strongly I thought about it. At the time, it's what I wanted so I've got no regrets. I think he quite liked how I was straight up. I said I wanted to leave, that I didn't want to go on loan.

"I think he respected that. I told him that I'd been here since I was 12-years-old and club could at least let me do what I want to do. I spoke to Ed Woodward and said the same to him. I was refusing to go on loan basically. I just wanted a new challenge and off I went."

McNair has been on the sidelines since November after suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury, and the defender is not expected to feature until next season.