Jose Mourinho has revealed that he got "emotional" when Wayne Rooney ended his 13-year stay at Manchester United.
The 31-year-old left Old Trafford earlier this month and joined boyhood club Everton as part of the deal that saw Romelu Lukaku move in the opposite direction.
Rooney scored just five goals in 25 Premier League appearances in Mourinho's first season in charge and was given less and less game time as the season progressed.
Mourinho accepts that it was in Rooney's best interests to move on in search of more regular playing time but insists the club were happy for him to stay.
"I miss him a lot," Mourinho is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying. "I think he's a fantastic guy. I'm not the kind of guy that gets normally emotional in my job and I did it with him when he left. But I'm sure that he's going to be very, very good for Everton and Everton is going to be very, very good for him.
"It was not difficult [to let him go] because he deserves that, it's not difficult. He deserves what he got and what he got was our desire for him to stay and our respect by letting it be completely clear that we would like him to stay.
"And at the same time, the respect that allows him to be happy - allow him to try to play every game, every minute which honestly I think he needs.
"I think with his body he needs to be working at high intensity every day, every match. So I think he deserves that respect from us: if you want to go, we have to make it easy for you to go."
The England international won 12 trophies, including five Premier League titles, during his 13-year spell at Old Trafford.
Giuseppe Labellarte
